November 1998 - GMA Network acquired the Channel 5 frequency from ABC and its callsign was changed to DXMJ-TV. As part of its acquisition, GMA's transmitter site transferred from its original location in Tagum City, Davao del Sur Province to Shrine Hills in Davao City. Following these changes, Channel 5 was relaunched as a GMA Network station and became a relay station delivering programs from Metro Manila via DZBB-TV.
October 4, 1999 - DXMJ-TV was upgrading into an originating station with the producing of its regional newscasts Testigo (initially known as Testigo: GMA Super Balita), a localized version of the network’s longest-running newscast Saksi, focusing on news coverage for the Davao City area. This was soon followed by the launch of the musical variety show Singgit Davao on October 24 of the same year. Shortly thereafter, GMA’s television operations in Davao relocated to the Amesco Building along Magsaysay Street, which had been the home of GMA’s radio stations since its inauguration in 1996.
December 31, 1999 - GMA Network’s special Global Millennium Day event featured a regional version tailored for Cebuano viewers, complete with regional hosts. The celebration included a simulcast from GMA-7 Manila, showcasing Regine Velasquez’s performance of "Written in the Sands," while the regional feed was simultaneously broadcast across Mindanao through various relay stations. In addition to the television broadcast, a radio version of the event aired on DXGM 1125 and Campus Radio stations throughout the Mindanao region, ensuring wide accessibility for audiences across different platforms.
May 5, 2008 - GMA Davao relocated its television studios to its transmitter site in Shrine Hills, Matina, moving from its original studio at the Amesco Building. The Amesco Building continued to serve as the headquarters for GMA’s radio operations, which had been transferred there in 1999.
June 27, 2018 - GMA Davao commenced ISDB-T digital test broadcasts on UHF Channel 37 expanding its coverage to Metro Davao, the provinces of Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur, as well as several areas in Davao de Oro.
Red: Home location of GMA Davao Light red and red: Market audience of GMA Davao Violet: Areas that may receive signals from GMA DavaoRed: Home location of GMA Northern Mindanao Light red and red: Market audience of GMA Northern Mindanao Violet: Areas that may receive signals from GMA Northern MindanaoRed: Home location of GMA General Santos Light red and red: Market audience of GMA General Santos (de jure) Violet: Areas that may receive signals from GMA General SantosRed: Home location of GMA Zamboanga Light red and red: Market audience of GMA Zamboanga Violet: Areas that may receive signals from GMA Zamboanga
Since 2017, GMA Davao’s programming has been broadcast across more than fourteen relay and rebroadcasting stations throughout Mindanao, significantly extending its regional reach.
Prior to becoming a Davao-based satellite hub, the General Santos station operated as an originating station from 2010 to 2015. During that period, it produced localized programs such as SOCCSKSARGEN Isyu Karon and Flash Bulletin. However, following the centralization of regional operations, it was absorbed by GMA Davao. This resulted in the simulcast of One Mindanao and other regional interstitial segments. Many of the editorial and reportorial staff from General Santos were also integrated into GMA Davao's operations, especially as GMA General Santos was not re-upgraded to full originating status.
Similarly, GMA Cagayan de Oro operated as an originating station from 2010 to 2015, producing regional programs like Northern Mindanao Isyu Karon and Testigo Northern Mindanao (later rebranded as 24 Oras Northern Mindanao). These too were discontinued following the retrenchment, with GMA Cagayan de Oro being absorbed into GMA Davao’s network. Its programming was replaced with simulcasts of One Mindanao and related regional content, while a number of its staff were retained under GMA Davao.
Other stations— including those in Zamboanga, Sulu, Butuan, Cotabato, Surigao, and Tandag—previously functioned as direct satellite relays of GMA-7 Manila. As of August 28, 2017, they were reassigned as relay stations under GMA Davao, further consolidating Mindanao operations.
The Zamboanga station was later upgraded to a semi-satellite station for Western Mindanao on October 14, 2021, and the General Santos station followed as a semi-satellite station for South Central Mindanao on March 21, 2022.[1]
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