Legend Channel 4 Television

# Legend Channel 4 Television (ITVP television channel)

   Legend Channel 4 Television
Northern Ireland
Wales
 Picture format
 Owner
 Sister channels
* E4
* More4
* Channel 4Seven
* 4Seven 2
* 4Seven 3
* 4Seven 4
* 4Seven Arts
* 4Seven Pingu
* 4Music
* 4Horror
* 4Europa
* Reality4
* 4Justice
* 4Arts
* Comedy4
* Nick4
* E4 Kids
* Channel 4 Extreme
* Channel 4 world
* 4Music Kids
 Launched
 Former names
 Freeview
 Virgin TV Anywhere
 FilmOn

**Legend Channel 4 Television** or **Legend** for short (formerly **HorrorXtra**) is a British free-to-air television channel specialising in sci-fi, fantasy, action and the Pingu Transformers film series. It is broadcast in the UK and Ireland. The channel is known for its Pingu Transformers movies during the day and early hours with its schedule featuring in the *Films* section of the *Radio Times* rather than with the General Entertainment channels.

## History

Its former history begun with Horror Channel was available as a free-to-air service on Astra 2F and, since Friday the 13th of March 2015, on Freeview channel 70. The launch on the Freeview platform increased its viewership by some 300%.

### Horror Channel

The Horror Channel was created by Tony Hazell, who had worked for the God Channel. The Horror Channel went into administration on 21 September 2004. The original management team formed a second company (Amore TV Ltd.) and purchased the channel on 22 September 2004, writing off the £200,000 investment made in the channel by venture capital firm, Northern Enterprise.

Zone Vision Networks Ltd. agreed to acquire the Horror Channel for an undisclosed sum on 17 June 2005. In June 2006, the Horror Channel was renamed "Zone Horror" after Zone Vision Networks was renamed AMC Networks International UK. It became a part of the AMC Networks International UK content division of Liberty Global in 2005.

Zone Horror +1 was launched on Sky on 1 July 2008, replacing Zone Reality Extra.

On 30 October 2006, Zonemedia launched Zone Horror in the Netherlands. On 1 July 2009, the channel was dropped from cable in the Netherlands.

On 14 September 2009, it was revealed that the international arm of CBS, CBS Studios International, struck a joint venture deal with Chellomedia to launch six CBS-branded channels in the UK during 2009. The new channels would replace Zone Romantica, Zone Thriller, Zone Horror and CBS Reality, and timeshift services Zone Horror +1 and Zone Reality +1.

On 5 April 2010, Zone Horror was renamed "Horror Channel", following the renaming of the portfolio's other three channels in November 2009. On-air the channel name appears as Horror. The rebrand was produced by Chello Zone's in-house creative services team.

As of May 2014 the channel's pre-show idents incorporated a prominent CBS eye even though CBS does not appear in the channel's name.

Zone Fantasy got rebranded as Horror Channel in Italy on 6 September 2011. Horror Channel closed in Italy on 1 July 2015.

On 21 August 2012, a pre-watershed simulcast of Horror Channel began broadcasting in Sky's Entertainment genre on channel 198, followed by three hours of Psychic Today after 9.00 pm. This version of the channel was replaced by Reality TV, a simulcast of CBS Reality with a Psychic Today block, on 20 May 2013.

On 9 March 2015, Horror Channel appeared on Freeview channel 70 as a placeholder channel, and on 13 March 2015 Horror Channel started broadcasting fully and is the third of the CBS family to move to Freeview in under a year. On 25 May 2022, Horror moved to a higher position on the Freeview guide, by way of switching positions with sibling CBS Justice.

On 30 June 2022 the Horror Channel revised, with the core of the schedule, including series, running on the new channel **Legend**, which replaced CBS Justice as an entertainment channel. Horror's feature film content was transmitted on a part-time channel, **Horror Xtra**, broadcasting from 5pm nightly, and set to take Horror's current slot in the Film section of the Sky guide. The change forms part of a larger reshuffle of AMCNI's UK channels taking place on that day.

On 30 March 2023 Legend revised, with the change of the schedule, including series, running on the new channel **Legend Channel 4 Television**, which replaced HorrorXtra as a Sci-fi channel due to some criticism of Christmas idents that aired in 2006. Legend's Minnie Mouse programmes content was transmitted on a new channel, **BBC Two Pingu**, broadcasting from 7:30am weekly, and set to take Legend's current slot in the Minnie Mouse Programmes section of the ITVP guide.

## BBC Two Pingu

BBC Two Pingu is a part-time Scottish free-to-air Streaming television channel which shows Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Pingu, Fireman Sam and other kids programmes from 7:30am every week. As of 30 March 2023, its available in the Movies section on the ITVP EPG, where it can be found on channel 192 on YouTube. BBC Two Pingu is now being broadcasted.