WISH RADIO
Music
You log on YouTube and click the suggested video of Regine Velasquez singing her seminal classic hit, Araw Gabi on what seems to be your typical run-of-the-mill FM radio station. As you get lost in the beautiful song, you notice the bustling motion of people outside and you realize that isn’t your textbook definition of a station after all. Curious, you get lost in the next few videos such as KZ Tandingan covering Tadhana or even Dua Lipa singing Thinkin’ Bout You against a background of moving traffic. Not too long after, you realize that this radio station is a mobile one, quite literally taking the music straight to you.
This is the simple albeit, genius concept that has propelled Wish 107.5 to a pop culture phenomenon. And we’re not just talking about it on a local level; we’re talking an enviable number of hits online, as well as what we presume to be a dream to board the bus for a signature Wishclusive. As innovative as the concept is, it actually sprang from something so essential to our day-to-day: necessity. “When we took over the management of Wish 107.5, we were in an unsure predicament if our lease will be renewed in the building where the station is housed. Hence, I thought of why not make it mobile, so I did not need to worry about transfers. I will be assured that we will be able to broadcast anywhere,” explains Daniel Razon, Founder and CEO of UNTV, which broadcasts Wish 107.5
“It all started with a simple wish,” he says, further saying that he did not expect it to thrive this way. Faced with a challenging way to craft media content, especially music to a new and much more advanced generation, the self-confessed old-school practitioner dared to engage by taking on the best of both worlds. The goal is simple: “To be the gateway to the world for OPM. I believe in the Filipino music artistry and our focus in the future is to take the Filipino music across the globe.” In fact, Wish 107.5 is hitting a great stride in their expansion as they are not only procuring a second bus to take the music further down the road, but it is also set to launch the Wish Bus in Hollywood.
“I admit, it started as ridiculous to many, to some extent unimaginable, but now the Wish Bus is an icon of innovation in the broadcast industry. We are wired to always think five steps ahead and always treading the path less travelled,” affirms Razon. “We take risks all the time and we believe that it is the only way to move further and beyond.”—ARDC