As one of the youngest terrestrial television stations in the Philippines, it was created when the
Philippine Congress granted it a franchise under
Republic Act No. 8219 (which lapsed into law) on September 12, 1997, and it was duly licensed by the country's
NTC on January 10, 2007. CLTV 36 began transmission on March 19, 2007. In 2008, it was relegated to an all-news and infotainment channel. Throughout most of its history, CLTV 36 focused on centralized media coverage of news, public affairs and infotainment programming, covering all the provinces of
Central Luzon:
Nueva Ecija,
Bulacan,
Bataan,
Tarlac,
Zambales,
Aurora, and its home province
Pampanga. The station's new tower at Clark Freeport Zone was inaugurated on December 9, 2015. Its signal is also receivable in parts of
Metro Manila,
Ilocos Region,
Cordillera Administrative Region, and
Calabarzon (except
Batangas,
Laguna and
Quezon). The station pioneered extensive and frequently updated coverage of national and local elections and natural disasters that hit the region, including typhoons and northeast monsoons. In 2013, CLTV 36 launched their entertainment programming through the Star Mill Talent Search. The station is also the official broadcaster of the
Giant Lantern Festival every December from 2007, as well as the
United Central Luzon Athletic Association games since 2015. In 2015, CLTV 36 moved its transmission to 10-kilowatt, 68.5m (225ft) tall
BTSC stereo transmitter and primary station tower which was located at C.P. Garcia Street,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.
Branding changes Before the station's 9th anniversary, on April 2, 2016, it was rebranded as
CLTV 36 Metro Central Luzon, along with a new theme song
eponymous with the station's branding, performed by the Chocolate Factory Band, and
Star Mill alumnus Jeneal Mariano and Andy Pangan. On its 10th anniversary in 2017, the station reverted to its original name
CLTV 36 with a new slogan, "The Region's Infotainment Channel". On January 7, 2018, the station reverted to its original slogan, "One Region, One Station". On March 22, 2019, CLTV 36, as part of its 12th anniversary celebration with the theme "Championing Local Pride" (also used as a slogan from 2019 to 2022), held its inaugural Social Services Conference and Expo (SocSeCon) at
Robinsons Starmills mall in San Fernando, Pampanga. On June 26, 2020, despite challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the station launched
#SaleseMuRin with the re-usage of their 2011 station theme, "" (). On June 27, 2020, the channel migrated to the
16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. The change allowed for a widescreen presentation, optimizing the viewing experience for viewers with compatible widescreen televisions. On May 14, 2021, CLTV 36 revealed its new logo during its 14th anniversary, replacing the 2007 logo, and revealed its additional programming lineup for 2021. On May 20, 2022, the station celebrated its 15th anniversary through a business conference and Partner Appreciation Night with the theme, "" (), at Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando. In November 2022, the station revived one of its previous slogans "" (first used in early 2010s), as well as the station's 2007 logo; the now-former logo continued as a secondary until December 2022. The station re-used its former theme songs throughout its history: their 2013 station theme, "CLTV 36, Kasama Mo", composed by
Andy Alviz; and the 2016 station theme "CLTV 36 Metro Central Luzon", albeit with modified lyrics and covered by
Kapampangan performer Chew the Cud. In mid 2023, the station began to de-emphasize its pan-regional content, and began increasing amount of programs focused on Pampanga and Kapampangans, while maintaining a small portion of programs in
Filipino and English. Thus, the relaunch included the slogan "" (which is the
Kapampangan term for the Filipino phrase "" or "Patriotic Heart"). In February 2024, CLTV 36 moved its transmission facilities back on the original site in San Fernando with its newly renovated tower atop of the CGIC Building. It ceased operations of the Clark Tower as a result. In late September 2024, the station has slowly decreased its Kapampangan-centric content and its "Pusung Makabalen" slogan has been dropped in favor of gradually returning its pan-regional content while still maintaining a small portion of programs in its native language. Plans of building SFN or repeater towers in different parts of the region to expand its digital TV coverage on every capital cities of Central Luzon provinces have been laid but has not yet been materialized. ==Current programs==