DWBM (105.1 FM), on-air as 105.1 Brigada News FM, is a radio station owned by Mareco Broadcasting Network and operated under an airtime lease agreement by Brigada Mass Media Corporation in the Philippines. It serves as a Luzon flagship station of the Brigada News FM Network. The station's studio is located at the 5th Floor of the Jacinta Building 2, #1840 EDSA, Brgy. Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati; its transmitter is located at San Carlos Heights, Binangonan.
History
1963-1973: DZLM
Mareco Broadcasting Network, Inc., owned by Villar family led by Manuel Sr., made its debut in the radio industry in 1963. The family were the pioneers of the country's music industry which had started Mabuhay and Villar records, two of the country's first and then largest recording companies. The latter was also the licensee of many foreign labels, including RCA, Columbia and Motown.
DZLM Love Radio 1430 was established by the family, being one of the network's first AM radio stations; another was DZBM 740 which first went on the air. Both stations originally served only as a promotional venue for Mareco's record labels. While played a local recording once daily, they mostly played records under foreign labels as well; all requested by the listeners within their 19-hour run in later years.
The station was known for pioneering the contemporary hit radio (top 40) format, as well as playing dance music in 1971.
1973-1994: Move to FM
Upon the declaration of nationwide martial law in 1972, a decree was issued ordering a broadcast company to operate an AM and an FM station in each area. While DZBM was kept, DZLM migrated to FM the following year, later becoming DWLM 105.1. DZBM, on the other hand, had played a variety of the latest in popular music and consistently topped the surveys; had the magazine-type format until becoming the first AM station to reformat and subsequently the top-rated pop music station for at least five to six years, and later became DWOO with a showbiz-oriented format. The station, now owned by Interactive Broadcast Media, is currently operated as DWWW 774.
The station continued with its format, competing with DZRJ-FM. The station later became Super Tunog Pinoy with an all-Filipino format, and then Power 105 (DZ)BM FM with a new wave format from 1985 to 1991, competing with WXB 102 (then at 102.7 FM).
Thereafter, the station changed its call letters to DWBM-FM and its format to be adapted by its succeeding management. It was in this decade when the station became the country's first CNN radio affiliate.
1994-2019: Crossover
In 1994, when Luis Villar sold the shares to his children, the station went to his son, Louie, who reformatted it as Crossover. The station pioneered the smooth jazz format; a blend of cool jazz, rhythm and blues, Latin, pop, classic soul, samba, and tropical music; the combination of these was described by the Villars as the "most literal translation" of the station's name they had coined and later popularized. It was able to distinguish itself from Citylite 88.3 which plays only jazz. The station's first corporate logo—roughly based on a silhouette of jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal—was introduced in 1996. Being classified as an avant-garde music station by then, high-income listeners were the target audiences.
Few years later, Crossover expanded to the provinces with 99.1 FM in Bacolod, 93.1 FM in Cebu City (later moved to 90.7 FM), 93.1 FM in Davao City, all in 1997; and 105.1 FM in Baguio (Manila's relay station) in 2000. All of those stations share the same playlist as the one in Manila to avoid shortchanging the audiences. A plan to put up another in Cagayan de Oro didn't come to fruition. The Crossover format is also webcast worldwide in real time on their official website.
In early 2000s, the station organized nationwide concert series, which featured Martin Nievera, Jaya, Lani Misalucha, and Zsa Zsa Padilla, as well as monthly pocket concerts and bar tours around Metro Manila. They also produced live concerts by foreign artists, jazz performers Bobby Caldwell and Phil Perry, David Benoit, Basia, and The Spinners.
The station eventually produced a series of CDs that would later be given recognitions.
During the early 2000s, the station had no DJs in favor of playing music. By that time, Louie Villar explained that its playlist were based on quality rather than popularity.
It became an affiliate of the BBC World Service.