 Hero TV final logo (2015–2018) | |
| Country | Philippines |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Network | ABS-CBN |
| Headquarters | ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, Sgt. Esguerra Avenue corner Mother Ignacia Street,Diliman,Quezon City, Philippines |
| Programming | |
| Language | Filipino |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Creative Programs Inc. |
| Sister channels | ANC,ABS-CBN Regional Channel,Asianovela Channel(free trial),Cine Mo!,Cinema One,DZMM TeleRadyo,Jeepney TV,Lifestyle,Liga,Movie Central(free trial),Myx,O Shopping,Yey! |
| History | |
| Launched | September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01)(Test broadcast) November 12, 2005; 20 years ago (2005-11-12)(Official launch) |
| Closed | February 1, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-02-01)(Defunct) |
| Replaced by | Liga(Cable channel space) |
| Links | |
| Website | cablechannels |
 Hero (digital) logo | |
Type of site | Social media Web portal Digital news |
|---|---|
| Available in | Filipino, English |
| Successor | YeY! Channel(Online channel space) |
| Headquarters | ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, |
| Area served | Worldwide(Internet) |
| Owner | ABS-CBN Corporation |
| Key people | Ces Oreña-Drilon Paolo Pineda |
| Launched | February 7, 2018 (2018-02-07) |
| Current status | Inactive (since June 2021; as a pop-culture platform) Active (since September 2023; as reposts fromAni-One Philippines)[1] |
Hero (also known asHero TV and visually rendered in allcapital letters) was a 24-hourPhilippinepay television channel created byABS-CBN's narrowcast armCreative Programs Inc. from 2005 to 2018. The programming was composed primarily ofFilipino-dubbedJapaneseanime series. It was dubbed as "The First and All Tagalog-dubbed Anime Channel in the Philippines."
In February 2018, Hero was relaunched as a digital web portal operated byABS-CBN Digital Media, providing news content on anime, pop culture and gaming.[2] However, the website later became inactive.
Much of the content in the channel is attributed to the fact thatCreative Programs' parent companyABS-CBN Corporation (through itsmain network) has produced numerous dubs of anime series many years before the launch of Hero, as well as maintained anAnimax 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 asMirmo de Pon!.
The channel also once featured anime series dubbed by Telesuccess, Inc., the supplier for most of the anime series aired onGMA Network, before transferring them all toTeleAsia. Some of these areLove Hina,Rune Soldier, andShaman King.[3] Others seen in the channel were previously shown in English onCartoon Network's Philippine feed (i.e.Crush Gear Turbo) or, in the case ofZettai Muteki Raijin-Oh, on government-controlledRPN which in 1969 having taking over several channel frequencies and transmitter broadcast facilities previously held and used by ABS-CBN, notably Channel 9.[4][5]
Furthermore, Hero TV featured re-dubs (i.e. producing its own dubbed version of a previous anime series which was already dubbed in Tagalog). Examples of these areMon Colle Knights,Metal Fighter Miku,Zenki,The Slayers, andVoltes V.
In 2011, undubbed anime was introduced to the channel with accompanying Filipino-language subtitles, in the form ofYu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light and theInitial D Extra Stage OVA. The reason for airing these two anime features in their original Japanese audio is unknown.
Ever since its launch in 2005, Hero TV operated on a daily 18-hour-a-day schedule from 6 AM to 12 midnight during the first months of their operation. In April 2006, the channel expanded its operating hours to 20 hours, thus signing off at 2 AM of the following day. On January 3, 2011, Hero TV finally transitioned into a full 24-hour cable TV service.
In the summer season of 2012, Hero TV starts to greatly increase its lineup of new anime titles beginning withYu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds,Toaru Kagaku no Railgun,Naruto Shippūden,Hanasaku Iroha, andShiki; as well as airing the first two series of theSailor Moon franchise, and a more complete version of theAniplex-producedJigoku Shoujo. Except forSailor Moon,Jigoku Shoujo andToaru Kagaku no Railgun, all of these titles have never been aired on Animax before (Animax airsRailgun andSailor Moon in other countries).
On December 23, 2017, an Anime Pilipinas article stated that Hero TV will end its broadcast operations on January 31, 2018, due tolack of advertising support and change in business direction which was later announced on January 1.[6] This was further confirmed through a commercial that aired on the channel on January 16, 2018.[7]
During the final day of broadcast on January 31, 2018, Hero TV aired a Facebook live broadcast where its hosts and staffs shared great memories and thanked supporters. After airing a tribute video showing the past anime titles, local programs and events produced or sponsored by the channel, Hero TV signed off for the last time on February 1, 2018, at 12:04 AM, ending with a farewell message and the words "Hero Now Signing Off." Few seconds later, cable providers still receiving Hero TV would see the modified EBU test card reading "ABS-CBN TOC SD" before shutdown until the provider can replace it or automatically scan with another channel, while Sky Cable have replaced Hero TV withLiga, a sports channel that complements the programming ofS+A with international and local sports events.
On February 7, 2018, Hero relaunches, and demoted into a digital web portal handled by the Lifestyle team fromABS-CBN Digital Media, but will not carry anime titles nor establish an anime video-on-demand service. It will provide limited news content on anime, pop culture and gaming.[2]
In March 2018,Jeepney TV featured theHero Zone (a former anime block ofABS-CBN's main channel in 2006) as a two-hour weekend morning anime block, beginning withYu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V andKonoSuba. The block was later discontinued in July 2018 to focus on local programming.[8]
Yey!, adigital television channel ofABS-CBN TV Plus, aired some of the newest anime series that debuted on the channel, includingAce of Diamond (season 1),My Hero Academia (seasons 1 and 2),One-Punch Man (season 1),Doraemon (2005 version), the final two seasons ofNaruto Shippūden (seasons 9 and 10), and the first 51 episodes ofBoruto: Naruto Next Generations (season 1). Yey! ceased broadcasting in mid-2020, withCardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card served as the last anime series broadcast on the channel;[9]Clear Card would later resume airing onA2Z in 2021, completing all the episodes.
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