RTBC One

RTBC One is the first and flagship entertainment television network of the RTBC in the Philippines. It was launch on November 5, 1982 as RTBC-6, until the launch of the second television network RTBC-8 in 1992, whereupon it was changed to RTBC1 and RTBC 2, respectively. A spelling revision to the networks were updated in 1997, reflecting the networks, RTBC One and RTBC Two, respectively.

Broadcasting a mixture of English and Filipino programming, RTBC One aims to a demographic of ages 15-24 years old and 25-54 years old. It is also aimed to not only the Filipinos, but also to expatriates and tourists in the country, though in today's world (as of the writing of this article), some or majority of them may have a subscription to video streaming services (e.g. Netflix and Amazon Prime) or a Slingbox or a VPN to watch shows from services that are not available outside of the country of service due to rights issues.

History
RTBC One was launched on November 5, 1982 as RTBC-6 at 6:00pm with the Philippine national anthem (Lupang Hinirang), then a news program named "RTBC News" (now RTBC News at 6), two episodes of the English-dubbed version of the children's TV show, Heidi: Girl of the Alps, a movie named "Jaws", an episode of Happy Days, and a movie of Pink Floyd's concert from Pompeii, then it ended at 12:35am the next day.

Unlike much of the TV stations in the Philippines, the announcer of the network were changed a few times during the years, the first announcer of the network was Pablo Thompson (b. 1956) from 1981-1991, Erick Policarpio (b. 1961) from 1991-2006, and Joseph Sato (b. 1979) from 2006-present. Substitute announcers are also used as well.

During the early years, much of the imported programming came from Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some of the programmes include, A Country Practice, The Friendly Giant, Speed Racer, Bracken, El Chavo del Ocho (dubbed in English with Tagalog subtitles), Close to Home, Curro Jiménez (dubbed in English with Tagalog subtitles), Dad's Army, Doctor Who, and Magnum P.I.

The network became famous for airing the some of the shows from the "World Masterpiece Theater" anime series during the 1980s until early 2000s, starting from Heidi, Girl of the Alps until Pollyanna, Girl of Love.

After the EDSA Revolution in 1986, RTBC-6 began to expand to other regions in the Philippines (such as Cebu, Davao and Batangas). In the same year, RTBC-6 started to air the Chō Jikū Series (Super Dimension Trilogy) in English dub with Tagalog subtitles.

In 1987, a new set of bumpers were aired on the network. Known as "Shapes and Things", it was designed by Lambie-Nairn and Five By Five in the United Kingdom. The bumpers were shown from 1987 to 1997 and it was designed to co-exist with the existing bumpers from 1982, and features a set of shapes and objects that was done in crazy, different ways.

Following the launch of RTBC2 in 1992, the bumpers and promos and trailers were updated to the RTBC1 branding, which the logo was placed on the bottom middle (similar to the BBC). In the same year, the network started to air the British comedy series Mr. Bean.

In 1995, when the MTRCB introduced a television rating system, RTBC1 and its sister network, RTBC2, introduced digital on-screen graphics in order to comply with MTRCB's new television rating system and to strengthen its brand recognition.

In 1997, a new branding for RTBC One and RTBC Two was done by Animal Logic in Australia. The branding features a minimalist art style (in similar to Frank Stella and Sol LeWitt) and it ran from 1997 to 2002, and again from 2007 to 2012. In order to revitalize the network (alongside with the rebranding), a quota had to be placed, which means that 50% of the programming are imported, while the remaining 50% of the programming are locally made in Tagalog or in English. However, the Tagalog programs will have English subtitles.

In 1998, RTBC One aired the ADV English dub of the controversial Japanese anime TV show Neon Genesis Evangelion at late night. Due to the subject matter of the show, the MTRCB tried to ban the show from airing it on the network. Despite that, it became a signature show on the network.

From 1998 until 2008, RTBC One started to air BBC World News programming from 3:00am to 6:00am.

In 2000, RTBC One aired all 10 episodes of the infamous British-German education TV series Hallo Aus Berlin during its children programming timeslot in the morning.

In 2001, RTBC One aired a Philippine version of BBC's Top of The Pops. Being a chart show, it features Filipino celebrities as announcers and it uses the Philippine Music Charts (from GS Media Network) as the base for the show.

From 2005 until 2010, RTBC One and its sister network, RTBC Two, started to air in 14:9. The on screen graphics were placed below the 14:9 black bars on 4:3 frame. All of the shows, commercials and trailers/promos that are in 16:9 are cropped to 14:9. It was the first Philippine network to air in a 14:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Due to this, most widescreen TVs may crop the black bars because the channel had a widescreen signal embedded on it (regardless of where it was viewed from terrestrial or cable or satellite).

On February 5, 2007, the BBC and Channel 4 Television Corporation announced that they'll acquire 25% of the company's stake of the network each. Despite the pressure from the SEC and the NTC, which they banned the foreign ownership of mass media, the acquisition was completed on February 5, 2009.

In 2008, RTBC One (alongside with its sister channel RTBC Two) began test trials for digital television in 720p60 high definition using DVB-T starting with Metro Manila, and later Cebu. In 2010, it was changed to ISDB-T after the NTC mandated that it will use the Japanese digital terrestrial broadcasting format instead of the European digital terrestrial broadcasting format. The first program to be aired in HD is the 1997 Japanese anime movie, End of Evangelion, which it was aired from a HDCAM SR transfer.

On May 1, 2012. RTBC One (alongside with its sister channel RTBC Two) officially launched its digital HD versions of the two channels in 1080i60, respectively, on digital terrestrial ISDB-T, SkyCable, Destiny Cable, Cignal, G Sat, and other pay TV providers in the Philippines. On June 15, 2017, RTBC One and RTBC Two ceased broadcasting on analog terrestrial television as they officially move to digital TV.

Following the criticism of the Netflix dub of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, RTBC bought the show's rights back from Netflix, Gainax and Studio Khara in order to make a better redub of the franchise.

Programs
See List of programs broadcast by RTBC One

List of television stations
* ceased transmission on analog terrestrial on June 15, 2017.
 * DWRB-TV (VHF 6*/DTV 6 Manila)
 * DYRB-TV (VHF 6*/DTV 3 Cebu)
 * DXRB-TV (VHF 3*/DTV 3 Davao)

Broadcasting hours history

 * 12:00nn to 12:30am (1982-1987)
 * 10:00am to 12:30am (1987-1990)
 * 8:00am to 12:00mn (1990-1993)
 * 6:00am to 1:00am (1993-1998)
 * 6:00am to 3:00am (1998-2017)
 * 24 hours (2017-present) (the station still signs off on Holy Week)