Hero (TV channel)
 | |
Type of site | Anime, Japanese pop culture and eGames |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, Filipino |
| Headquarters | ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines |
| Area served | worldwide |
| Owner | ABS-CBN Digital Media |
| Website | facebook.com/myheronation twitter.com/myheronation instagram.com/heroofficialph youtube.com/heroofficialph |
| Launched | February 7, 2018 |
| Current status | Active |
| Hero | |
|---|---|
 Final logo used 2015 until 2018 | |
| Launched | As TV Channel: September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01) (Test broadcast) November 12, 2005 (2005-11-12) (Official launch) |
| Closed | February 1, 2018 (2018-02-01) (as TV Channel) |
| Owned by | Creative Programs (2005 - 2018) ABS-CBN Digital Media (2018 - present) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Slogan | This is HERO, now on digital |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino |
| Broadcast area | Cable and Satellite TV (2005–2018) Internet/Social Media (2018–present) |
| Headquarters | ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, Diliman, Quezon City |
| Replaced by | Liga (channel space) |
| Sister channel(s) | ABS-CBN News Channel, ABS-CBN Regional Channel, Asianovela Channel, Cine Mo!, Cinema One, DZMM TeleRadyo, Jeepney TV, Lifestyle, Liga, Movie Central, Myx, O Shopping, Yey! |
| Website | cablechannels.abs-cbn.com/hero/ |
Hero (formerly known as Hero TV) is a pop culture web portal based in Quezon City. It provides content on anime, Japanese pop culture and eGames and is currently operated by ABS-CBN Digital Media, a division of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. It was formerly a 24-hour Filipino pay TV channel from 2005 to 2018 operated by ABS-CBN narrowcast arm Creative Programs which its programming was composed primarily of Filipino-dubbed Japanese animation.
Contents
1 Background
1.1 Shutdown and migration to social media
2 Final programming
2.1 Non-anime programs
3 References
4 External links
Background
Much of the content in Hero is attributed to the fact that Creative Programs Inc's parent company ABS-CBN (through its main network) has produced numerous dubs of anime years before the launch of Hero, as well as maintained an Animax airing block for quite sometime. Aside from those, the channel also airs anime that have not yet seen in any terrestrial or cable channel shown in the Philippines prior to its first showing in the channel, such as Mirmo de Pon!.
The channel also once featured anime dubbed by Telesuccess, Inc., supplier for most of the anime aired on ABS-CBN's rival GMA Network, before transferring them all to TeleAsia. Some of these are Love Hina, Rune Soldier, and Shaman King.[1] Others seen in the channel were previously shown in English on Cartoon Network's Philippine feed (e.g. Crush Gear Turbo) or, in the case of Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh, on government-controlled RPN 9 (now known as CNN Philippines).[2]
Furthermore, the channel features re-dubs (i.e. it produced its own dubbed version of anime which previously were already dubbed in Tagalog.) Examples of these are Mon Colle Knights, Metal Fighter Miku, Zenki, The Slayers, and Voltes V.
In 2011, undubbed anime was introduced to the channel with accompanying Filipino-language subtitles in the form of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, and the Initial D Extra Stage OVA. The reason for airing these two anime features in their original Japanese audio is not known.
In the Summer of 2012, HERO began to greatly increase its lineup of new titles, starting with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, Naruto Shippuden, Hanasaku Iroha, and Shiki; as well as airing the first two series of the Sailor Moon franchise, and a more complete version of the Aniplex-produced Jigoku Shoujo. Except for Sailor Moon, Jigoku Shoujo and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, all of these titles have never been aired on Animax before (Animax airs Railgun and Sailor Moon in other countries).
Shutdown and migration to social media
On December 23, 2017, an Anime Pilipinas article stated that Hero TV will end its broadcast operations on January 31, 2018 after 12 years due to lack of advertising support and change in business direction (before Hero TV, sister stations Tag and ABS-CBN Regional Channel closed down earlier on January 15.) It was publicly announced through a plug that aired in the channel starting January 16.[3]
During the last full day of broadcast, January 31, Hero TV aired a Facebook live broadcast, where its staff shared great memories and thanked supporters. Hero TV signed off for the last time on February 1, 2018 at 12:04 am after airing a tribute video that shows past anime titles, and local programs and events produced or sponsored by the station, ending with a final farewell message and the words "Hero Now Signing Off." Few seconds later, cable providers still receiving Hero would see the modified EBU test card that reads "ABS-CBN TOC SD" before shutdown until the provider can replace it or automatically scan with another channel, while other providers like Sky Cable (in Metro Manila and in selected metropolitan and large cities) have replaced this channel with Liga, a sports channel that complements the programming of S+A with international football and local sports events, which was silently launched earlier on January 1.
Hero was relaunched and demoted as a social media portal on February 7, 2018 and is being handled by the Lifestyle team from ABS-CBN Digital Media. Whilst its news content includes anime, gaming and pop culture, it will not carry anime titles nor establish an anime video-on-demand service. Meanwhile, its sister station Yey! has limited airing of some of the anime titles aired on Hero and will carry the last remaining new titles on Yey! channel including Ace of Diamond and My Hero Academia.[4]
Hero had its two-hour Sunday morning anime block on Jeepney TV beginning March 11, 2018. However, it was later cancelled in July 2018 just before Jeepney TV became available on ABS-CBN TV Plus.[5]
Final programming
Non-anime programs
Although the channel markets itself as an "anime channel", some of the programs it aired were non-anime. They are Mission Odyssey and Shadow of the Elves, both produced by the Berliner Film Companie, and the tokusatsu or live-action shows The Gransazers, Masked Rider Ryuki, and Shaider.
References
^ List of Philippine anime aired in the Philippines, GMA 7 list
^ List of Philippine anime aired in the Philippines, Various TV channels
^ "HEROtv set to end broadcast on January 31". Anime Pilipinas. December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ https://m.facebook.com/notes/hero-tv/hero-evolves-into-a-digital-platform/1675462479159615/
^ "ABS-CBN's Jeepney TV relaunches HERO Zone anime block on March 11". Anime Pilipinas. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
External links
YTP
Hero TV channel at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
