DWLS (branding as Barangay LS 97.1 Forever!) is a commercial radio station that broadcasts OPM & international music mixed with talk shows and the ever-successful radio drama format based in Diliman Quezon City. Since 2007, it has served as the flagship FM station of GMA Network Inc. in the Philippines under the Barangay FM brand. The station's studio is located at the GMA Annex Building, GMA Network Dr. cor. Samar Ave., Barangay South Triangle, Timog, Diliman Q.C. and its transmitter is located in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, Philippines.
History[]
DZXX (1955–1972)[]
It first aired in 1955, when "Uncle Bob" Stewart opened the DZXX-AM 890 kHz station, the first pop music station in the country on the AM band.
97.1 WLS-FM/The Giant 97.1 WLS-FM (October 1976–1992)[]
On October 7, 1976, GMA launched DWLS-FM on 97.1 as a jazz-formatted station. It lasted until February 28, 1986, a few days after the EDSA Revolution when The Giant 97.1 WLS-FM was born and CHR format was introduced.
Campus Radio 97.1 (1992–2007)[]
When GMA introduced the "Rainbow Satellite Network" in early 1992, the station was reformatted on April 30, 1992 as Campus Radio 97.1 WLS-FM. This was to target teens & early adults. Its notable programs were the longest-running program on the station, the legendary "Top 20 at 12," where the top 20 songs of the day were counted down in the mold of BBC Radio 1's The Official Chart Show at noontime, and "Campus Aircheck", an institution of sorts for aspiring DJs to get hired by Campus Radio, touted as "the first school on the air".
Barangay LS (2007-present)[]
On February 14, 2007, Campus Radio rebranded as Barangay LS 97.1, using its old slogan, "Forever!". It reverts to a format that caters to the masses. Despite Campus Radio's dominant ratings performance in the pop category, GMA's FM radio sales unit failed to sell the format.
On January 16, 2008 at around 6 pm, the station launched its new tagline, "Ayos!", which is also the tagline for its provincial Campus Radio stations. That same day, almost all of the station's current jocks were replaced by jocks from RGMA provincial radio stations as well as jocks from other stations with the same format.
On January 17, 2011, facing fierce competition with other "masa" stations, the new slogan, "Tugstugan Na!," was launched and the station adopted the "crazy fun" sound brand in the market. Mike Enriquez was replaced by Glenn F. Allona as program director/station manager, aiming Barangay LS to bring back the focus on the staple of FM Programming which is music.
On February 17, 2014, Barangay LS 97.1 was rebranded with reformatted programs, new jingle, a new logo & a new slogan called "Isang Bansa, Isang Barangay".
The station brought back the old slogan of "Forever!" in 2018, hoping to regain old fans and get new ones as well. The growth of it's flagship program, Barangay Love Stories, gave birth to a new set of loyal fans, finally getting the station back on top in June of 2020. Program adjustments were made to adapt to the pandemic setting and fast-forward to 2025, Barangay LS 97.1 is still the most dominant FM station in Mega Manila.