MANILA, Philippines – New station Radyo 630 formally launched its livestreaming on social media platform, YouTube, on Monday, July 3, choosing to start from scratch rather than rebrand and take off from predecessor TeleRadyo’s YouTube account. 

As of 11:40 am on Monday, Radyo 630’s YouTube account had 1,170 subscribers, while the now-shuttered TeleRadyo, which joined in 2016, had 609,000 subscribers. 

Radyo 630’s social media accounts are: 

• Facebook: https://bit.ly/Radyo630FB
• Instagram: https://bit.ly/Radyo630IG
• TikTok: https://bit.ly/Radyo630TikTok
• Twitter: https://bit.ly/Radyo630TW
• YouTube: https://bit.ly/Radyo630YT

Radyo 630 TeleRadyo Serbisyo had a soft launch on Friday, June 30 – the 30th day of the 6th month of the year – with six-and-a-half hours of news and public service programs in the morning followed by pop music. It also had an audio of ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol from 6:30 pm to 8 pm, followed by pop music again until midnight. 

The station had announced when it was launched on Friday that TV Patrol anchor Noli de Castro would have a show, Kabayan, from 8 to 9 am, but the former Philippine vice president and senator did not show up on Monday. ABS-CBN reporter Adrian Ayalin sat in for De Castro on Monday. 

Last June 29, he said on his show Kabayan on TeleRadyo that he was still not clear about what would happen to TeleRadyo.

“Sorry to say, hindi ko pa ho alam… ‘Di ko nga alam kung sino ang mga taong dining nasa taas pa e. Ang nasa baba lang ang nakikita ko. ‘Yung mga nasa taas ay wala pa. Hindi pa nagpaparamdam,” he said. (Sorry to say, I don’t know yet. I even don’t know the people at the top. I only see the people down here. Those at the top are not yet here. They haven’t made their presence felt.)

Kabayan on Radyo 630 would mark the veteran newsman’s return to free radio after an absence of three years. The National Telecommunications Commission ordered ABS-CBN to shut down its free-to-air network on May 5, 2020 after ABS-CBN’s franchise expired.

Radyo 630 TeleRadyo Serbisyo is a joint project between ABS-CBN and House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Prime Media Holdings Incorporated. 

The two companies announced on May 23 a joint venture where ABS-CBN would provide content while Prime Media controls the  distribution and broadcasting. 

As of June 30, these were the weekday programs of Radyo 630: 

• 6 am to 7:30 am – Gising Pilipinas with Alvin Elchico and Doris Bigornia
• 7:30 am to 8 am – TeleRadyo Serbisyo Balita with Noli de Castro  and Joyce Balancio 
• 8 am to 9 am –  Kabayan with Noli de Castro 
• 9 am to 10:30 am  – Pintig ng Bayan with Johnson Manabat and Joyce Balancio 
• 10:30 – 12 noon – Tatak Serbisyo with Bernadette Sembrano and Winnie Cordero 
• 12 noon 12:30 pm – Headline Ngayon with Tony Velasquez, Johnson Manabat, Ahwel Paz
• 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm – music 
• 6:30 pm to 8 pm – TV Patrol 
• 8 pm to midnight – music

The morning programs are the most important in Philippine radio since this is the peak time for listenership on free radio. It then declines in the afternoon and evening.

Radyo 630 was still working out its afternoon and weekend programs, although most of the anchors of TeleRadyo were expected to continue with rebranded programs. TeleRadyo had 68 staff prior to the closure on June 30.

An ABS-CBN union official was quoted as saying last Friday that 33 had been retrenched by decision to close the news channel due to financial losses. ABS-CBN had hoped that the joint project with Prime Media for Radyo 630 would help those who would be displaced. – Rappler.com

(Disclosure: The author is former editor-in-chief of ABS-CBN’s general news website, news.abs-cbn.com. He is not related to Noli de Castro.)