There’s Only One Sports For TV5, Cignal

Goodbye Sports5, ESPN5, and 5 Plus!

On March 8, 2020, a huge change surprised Kapatid viewers. The channel that was (formerly) known as 5 Plus has been renamed once again, with last one being just 14 months ago. This time, it now goes by the name of its former sister channel on Cignal, One Sports.

One Sports was launched on Cignal TV channel 91 on January 9, 2019 (four days before AksyonTV’s relaunch to 5 Plus on January 13, 2019). Its programming was drawn upon from ESPN5, PBA Rush, and its own set of original shows.

5 Plus, on the other hand, was set to become TV5’s channel for atypical sports during its initial days. However, during its last few months, it began adding more high-profile sports like basketball and volleyball onto its catalog.

By having One Sports on free TV, the original Cignal channel also had its own makeover by becoming the sister channel One Sports+. The irony is that the channel that replaced Plus was given the +.

Moving on, the ESPN5 block on the mothership has also been axed. As of today, TV5 no longer brands its sports programs as part of the ESPN5 block, with those becoming part of the generic sports lineup of the network instead.

The ESPN5 division (or better yet, Sports5) also fell victim to the change. All accounts of the said sports department were renamed to One Sports, aligning itself with the not-so-new brand. However, what’s interesting is that the ESPN5 website is still operational, serving two purposes. One, is to become the ESPN webpage in the Philippines, and second, to become the de-facto One Sports portal as well.

This day is indeed crazy for all Kapatid sports fans. We could only hope that the network remains true to its goal of becoming the sports authority of the Filipino.

Watch the One Sports plug below: