Hero (TV channel)

Infobox TV channel
name=Hero
logofile=HeroTV.jpg
logosize=200px
launch=October 1, 2005 (first official broadcast)
November 12, 2005 (official launch)
network=ABS-CBN
owner=Creative Programs, Inc. (subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation)
slogan="Sa HERO TV, Ikaw ang Bida!" (Here on HERO TV, You're the Protagonist!)
"Tambayan ng mga Bida" (Protagonists' Hang-out)
country=flagcountry|Philippines
broadcast area=flagcountry|Philippines
headquarters=flagicon|Philippines Quezon City, Philippines
sister names=ABS-CBN News Channel
DZMM TeleRadyo
CinemaOne Global
Kapamilya Channel
Lifestyle Network
Maxxx
Velvet
Myx
Balls
Studio 23
The Filipino Channel
web=http://www.herotv.ph/
cable serv 1=SkyCable (Metro Manila)
cable chan 1=Channel 44
cable serv 2=Sunvision Cable (Taguig City)
cable chan 2=Channel 37
cable serv 3=SkyCable Davao (Davao City)
cable chan 3=Channel 17

Hero is the anime cable channel in the Philippines formed by Creative Programs Inc. (the cable subsidiary of ABS-CBN) which also produces MYX, Cinema One, ABS-CBN News Channel, Lifestyle Network Balls, Maxxx and Velvet. So far, it is seen on SkyCable in Metro Manila and in over 200 cable systems all over the Philippines. It is also known as Hero TV by fans and at times by the channel itself probably due to ambiguation purposes.

It is the first and only all-Tagalog-dubbed anime channel. It aired its first test broadcast from August to September, 2005. Regular broadcast started on the following month, it was formally launched at the Philippine Trade Training Center on November 12, 2005.

Initially, the channel airs between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight; but since April 2006, the schedule has been extended to 2:00 a.m. the next day.

Anime shown on the channel

Much of the content in Hero is attributed to the fact that Creative Programs Inc's parent company ABS-CBN (though its main network has produced numerous dubs of anime years before the launch of Hero). Aside from those, the channel also airs anime that have not yet seen in any terrestrial or cable channel shown in the Philippines prior its first showing in the channel, such as "Mirmo de Pon!".

The channel also features anime dubbed by Telesuccess, Inc., supplier for most of the anime aired in ABS-CBN's rival GMA 7. Some of these are "Love Hina", "Rune Soldier", and "Shaman King". Others seen in the channel were previously shown in English on Cartoon Network's Philippine feed or, in the case of "Raijin-Oh", on government-controlled RPN 9.

The channel also began to feature anime which were once exclusive to WOWOW, once the domain of GMA-7. One instance, , was never aired before outside of Japan, not even by ANIMAX, another channel that broadcasts WOWOW anime.

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" (these two were formerly on ABC-5), "Zenki", "The Slayers", and "Voltes V".

Non-anime programs

Although the channel prides 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". As of the present, "Shadow of the Elves" and "Mission Odyssey" have been pulled out of the program rotation; the three tokusatsu shows, previously removed from the rotation to accommodate new programs, were gradually taken back to the present program line-up.

The following programs joined and will join these five programs as non-anime programs shown on Hero:

Tokusatsu programs

*"Masked Rider Series" (555, and Blade)
*"Power Rangers" (, , and )
*"The Justirisers"
*"Sazer X"
*"Ryukendo"
*"Ultraman Series" (Tiga, Cosmos, Nexus, and Max)

Asian animation programs

*"BASToF Lemon" (Korean animation series)
*"Bubbles" (小鲤鱼历险记 "Xiǎo Lǐ Yú Lì Xiǎn Jì", a.k.a. The Adventures of Little Carp, Chinese animation series)
*"Mix Master" (Korean animation series)
*"Chess Master" (象棋王 "Xiàng Qí Wáng", Chinese animation series)
*"Shen Bing Kids" (神兵小将官方网站 "Shén Bīng Xiǎo Jiāng Guān Páng Wǎng Zhàn", Chinese animation series)
*"Big Mouth Dudu" (大嘴巴嘟嘟 "Dà Zuǐ Bā Dū Dū", Chinese animation series)
*"Mask Man" (마스크맨, Korean animation series)

Anime-style western animation programs

*"Di-Gata Defenders" (produced by Nelvana)
*"Mythic Warriors" (produced by Nelvana)
*"Class of the Titans" (produced by Nelvana)
*"" (spin-off of produced by Hasbro, 4Kids Entertainment and GONZO)
*"Storm Hawks" (Canadian/American TV series)

Non-anime-style western animation programs

*"Heavy Gear"
*""
*"Street Fighter"
*"Megaman" (produced by Ruby-Spears)
*"Wildcats"
*"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", 2003 version
*""
*""
*"Legend of the Dragon"
*"Chaotic"
*""

HERO-produced programs

*"G³ (G-cubed)" ("Games, Gigs, and Gadgets," a locally-produced technology program)
*"Animenutes" (a locally-produced anime news and information program)
*"Level Up TV" (a show for online gamers)

Program blocks

Below are Hero's television blocks, past and present (past ones are marked with an asterisk):
* Ohayoo Hero! is an early morning block which features anime meant to be watched by children. The Ohayoo part is a misspelled transliteration of the Japanese greeting "Ohayō!"
* Super Patrol Force (formerly Super Sentai Showdown and Saturday Super Sentai) is a program block which feature tokusatsu shows.
* Shoujo Power (formerly Girl Power) is a block of programs that feature women as heroines.
* Dream Team is a sport-themed block.
* League of Heroes is a block which features the channel's most prominent anime characters, mostly those targetted at boys.
* Mighty Metal Squad is a mecha-themed block devoted to robot-centric anime
* Theatrixx was the channel's movie block which shows a different anime movie or OAV. It was once weekend block, but it was also a weekday block from mid-May to mid-July 2008.
* Food Fantasy Face-off* was a food-themed weekday block which features "Yakitate!! Japan" and "Mister Ajikko".

Local short segments

In between shows or commercial breaks, the channel produced short segments for the viewers' pleasure. With the exception of AniMYX, Dubber's Cut, and Hall of Heroes, all local short segments have been pulled out.
* AniMYX shows anime mini-music videos (actually random montage clips) which follow the karaoke-cum-music video style of sister music channel MYX.
* Dubber's Cut gives a dubber's insight on a certain anime that is being worked on.
* Hall of Heroes comprehensively profiles a certain anime character.
* Anime 101 was the anime fans' information guide on anime fandom and dubbing.
* Stars on Hero was actually a promotion skit done by various celebrities, usually those from ABS-CBN.
* Hero Alert announced major events related to anime, manga, and cosplay.
* Hero's Choice recommended places for viewers to visit and enjoy (hence a travel guide).
* Hero Solutions which asked random people about their "hero solutions" to existing problems.
* Dream On featured a viewer living out his ambition or dream job for a short period of time.

Hero on TFC

Hero programs, such as Astroboy, Zenki, and many more, are being shown internationally by The Filipino Channel. Based on its promotional ad, the time block covers anime that have now been pulled out of Hero's regular program rotation in the Philippines. The block was pulled out in late 2007.

Competitors

So far among cable TV channels in the Philippines, Hero competes directly with Animax. This is unique since Animax, which formerly held a programming block on Hero's parent ABS-CBN, is the "only" channel in the rest of Asia which exclusively airs anime. Interestingly (as the above lists mentioned), Hero airs programs which Animax also airs in some of its channels outside Southeast Asia, e.g. "InuYasha". "InuYasha" was later joined by "Saiyuki Reload" and many others which had previous stints in any of Animax's various international feeds. Hero sometimes beats Animax to the punch, as far as debuting anime (that is, airing them for the first time outside of Japan) is concerned.

Hero also faces indirect competition from Cartoon Network.

Primetime schedule

All times are in standard Philippine time (GMT + 8), and the grid below covers only the 7:00 to 11:00pm timeslots.

ee also

*List of Philippine television networks
*List of Philippine companies

External links

* [http://www.herotv.ph/ Official Website]
* [http://herotelevision.blogspot.com Official Blog]
* [http://telebisyon.net/himpilan/Hero+TV/current/ Hero TV] at Telebisyon.net