DYVC-TV

DYVC-TV, channel 4 (digital UHF channel 18), is the de facto Visayas flagship station of the VGC television network licensed to Mandaue City, and serves the Central Visayas super-region through two external signals (see below). The station is owned by Greater East Media, as part of a duopoly with independent station DYCH-TV (channel 12). In turn, it is operated by the network's VGC Television Stations division, making it sister to radio stations DYVC (846) and DYVC-FM (102.3). DYVC-TV's studios are located at Peacock Drive in Mandaue City. Transmitter facilities are also located there, which is shared with DYCH-TV (along with the digital spectrum).

Early years
The Radio Corporation of America, having already been a key source of technology for the establishment of Manila's television stations, wanted to settle its own businesses in Cebu, having already owned radio station DYNB (693, now defunct) since its inception in 1935 as KZCR.

DYNB-TV signed on the air on December 7, 1953, a few weeks after DYCJ-TV (channel 30, now a Central O&O) of VGC's now-defunct newspaper The Cebu Journal (later revived as an online news website).

While technically, channel 4 was not affiliated with any network at the time, it later acknowledged its early years as an NBS station. Because of RCA's significant funding on the NBS network, including the fact that the company's US broadcaster NBC TV supplied most imports on the network, meant RCA was able to broadcast the entire network lineup of the then-duopoly of DZVM-TV and DZNB-TV in the Metropolitan area. However, despite the similar call letters, NB in DYNB-TV stood for NBC (which managed the Peacock Broadcasting subsidiary that owned the station until 2021).

NBS later left channel 4 in favor of purchasing an upstart television station, DYCU-TV (channel 5), from Chronicle-Tribune Broadcasting, a joint venture between two American newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune that managed most of the deYoung family's assets in the Philippines. (The Chronicle later acquired the Tribune 's stake in the joint venture, and the remaining broadcast assets became sister stations with channel 4 in 2021; see below). After three years as a secondary affiliation, channel 4 became an exclusive ENetwork affiliate until 1959 when locally-based Sentinel Corporation (later the Cordoba Company), which published the Cebu Sentinel, launched DYQC-TV (channel 10) and took ENetwork with it, owing to DYQC radio's affiliation/programming agreement with DZPH radio.

Independence and first stint with VGC
As a result, DYNB-TV became an independent station for most of the remainder of the 20th century. However, in 1964, VGC decided that UHF is not viable in a market like Cebu and sold DYCJ-TV to a partnership between the station's employees and the staff of the Journal which almost lost their jobs when the paper closed in 1963. At this time, UHF was starting to boom, but VGC decided it was going to sign a temporary affiliation agreement with channel 4 pending construction of DYCP-TV (channel 6) owned by Channel Six Associates, a joint venture between General Electric and former President Carlos P. Garcia.

When channel 6 signed on in 1966, DYNB-TV reverted to being an independent station. The only network reruns that ran on channel 4 were NBC-produced or distributed programs, most of which aired on VGC and NBS.

General Electric sold channel 6 in 1982 to Storer Broadcasting in order to prepare for its acquisition of RCA; GE had to sell channel 6 in order to comply with NTC guidelines prohibiting one licensee from owning two VHF television stations in a given market. GE returned to Cebu broadcasting in 1986 when it completed its acquisition of RCA, and in turn, DYNB-AM-TV. GE decided to close down DYNB-AM in 1989 and sold the non-license assets to Dela Vera-owned DYCJ radio (720). Channel 4 also gained a sister station in Pampanga (it was later sold to NBS). Peacock Broadcasting later acquired DXSV-TV from Seven Network Limited (successor of Qintex), turning the company into a three-station group with a recurring phrase "Three Islands, Three Voices"

VGC affiliation
On February 17, 1993, Gillett Holdings sold 51% of SCI Television (which owned DYCP-TV) to New World Pictures. On May 23, 1994, just as New World was affiliating its United States stations with the Fox Broadcasting Company, the company announced that it was selling off its interests in the Philippines to Davao-based radio company Southern Broadcasting Network, which already owned local television station World TV in Metro Manila, after which SBN announced that DYCP-TV's non-license assets would be sold to Vibal Publishing Company's Telebisyong Lazarina group, which by then owned the aforementioned DYCJ-TV. It meant that DYCP-TV was losing its VGC affiliation to channel 30. However, VGC announced that after the transfer of assets are complete, it will sign an agreement with DYNB-TV, reuniting it with the network after 28 years.

The affiliation changes were completed on New Year's Day January 1, 1995, after which most of channel 6's staff moved to independent channel 30, and VGC moved to channel 4. The first VGC program to air on channel 4 was VGC This Week. Because of channel 4's signal reaching Bohol, DYBH-TV, which protected its signal from DYQC-TV, was shut down. Although channel 4's signal can reach Dumaguete, Peacock Broadcasting decided to acquire DYND-TV and turned it into a semi-satellite of DYNB until it fully consolidated in 2005.

In 1997, LIN Media acquired 45% of channel 4 when it acquired 45% of Peacock Broadcasting from NBC, turning it into a joint venture. This gave NBC sister stations to 4 ENetwork-affiliated television stations. In 2004, VGC entered into a time brokerage agreement with Peacock Broadcasting to turn failing V+ station D-23-BH in Bohol into a relay station of channel, essentially giving the Bohol market two analog signals of VGC programming.

O&O status
Ever since the sale of DYCJ-TV, VGC never had another owned-and-operated station in the Cebu area. It briefly owned DYCH-TV (channel 12), but it was the Visayas flagship of the NewNet/V+ television service. VGC later sold DYCH in 2004 to Canadian company Canwest Global. However, DYNB-TV slowly became an owned-and-operated station through a series of business transactions.

Universal Stations Group (the former Peacock Broadcasting) announced to the public that it was merging with Greater East Media, which by the was the owner of channel 19. The merger was completed on January 12, 2021. However, while both stations began sharing resources, channels 4 and 19 still operate competing news operations; ever since GEM took control of DYCH-TV, its newscasts began a garden studio format. As part of the merger, GEM sold the non-license assets of channel 4 to VGC, making the station the network's de facto flagship O&O. This also made channel 4 sister stations with DYVC (846), which gave the station the incentive to change its call letters to DYVC-TV.

Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed: After the GEM-NBC merger, the station's digital facility (DYNB-DTV) was taken off the air and all programming from channels 4 and 12 were merged into one spectrum. However, DYVC-TV programming airs on virtual channel 4, and DYCH-TV programming airs on virtual channel 12.