be5
 Current logo, adopted in 2007 | |
| Traded as | BE5 (EvSE) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | March 15, 1987 in Evalria, Kalșeri |
| Founder | Saruvun Tórgisi |
| Headquarters | Evalria, Kalșeri |
Area served | Kalșeri |
Key people | Teodora Kirerigi (CEO) |
| Products |
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| Website | be5net.kl |
be5 is a Kalhan-language free-to-air television network launched in 1989. Its name is derived from the Kalhan word beș ([beʃ], "five"), as the network is the fifth national terrestrial channel in Kalșeri; the name is read either "be five" or "beș".
Launched in 1989, be5 caters to the younger Kalhan-speaking demographic groups, and delivers the news in five-minute programs rather than through a conventional half-hour program. Besides original programming, be5 airs its own dubs of television series from abroad.
A member of the "Gang of Five" (the others being KalCom, the KBC, JC Eldridge and Ronhem TV), be5 is a general entertainment channel that shows both original programming and dubs and adaptations of foreign media, mostly from the United States.
be5 is also active in film production and distribution through its subsidiary 5Kino.
History
1984-1997
Following a feedback survey held in May 1984, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications issued a white paper in which plans for a fifth and seventh national channel were laid out; according to the document, both channels were to be aimed at teenagers and young adults, and the fifth was to be "preferably in Kalhan". The Additional Channels Act 1985 was subsequently approved by Congress, allowing the Ministry to advertise the licenses to potential bidders.
The bidding process for the two channels began on January 1, 1987. Companies bidding for the license for the fifth channel included the Yarmolenko Group, American media conglomerate Viacom, Canadian media conglomerate Canwest, Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset, former KBC executive Bob Eldridge, and advertising agent and Raladure member Saruvun Tórgisi. On July 30, the license for the fifth channel was awarded to Tórgisi, whose plan was to create a channel that would cater to Kalhan-speaking teenagers and young adults, something that he deemed was "missing" from the existing Kalhan-language television line-up.
Between July 31, 1987 and 12:30 of March 31, 1989, the fifth channel was occupied by a title card that read: "Terkin șin sare iom!/New channel coming soon!", with the be5 logo below the text. The channel was sometimes used by other channels, with permission from Tórgisi, to broadcast special events. From January 1989 until its launch, the channel showed sneak peeks of its original programming, including interviews, technical achievements and promotions by Kalhan-speaking celebrities like actors Ernestus Persi and Gabriela Ningi, singers Luisa Téngisi and Roberta Hewey, writer Adele Éfongi, director Rían Dalgi, and Kauna! frontman W. T. Filisi. be5 launched at 18:30 of April 1, 1989, after a six-hour countdown.
be5 began to air internally-produced Kalhan dubs of foreign television series, starting with Home Improvement in 1992, followed by The X-Files, Friends, ER, Millennium, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and others. The dubs have been held in high regard by native Kalhan-speakers, though some misinterpretations have been documented.
The game show Ieton Savumene, the first game show produced by the network, began airing in 1995. Initially hosted by Izzy Honturagi, she was replaced with Mark Rentengi in 2000. Another be5 staple, Night Screening (Liafore), a talk show dedicated to discussion of films, also premiered in 1995.
1997-present
In 1997, Saruvun Tórgisi, who had served as chief executive officer since the establishment of be5 ukn. ten years earlier, resigned; creative director Nik Ienuvion was appointed CEO of be5 in his place. The channel's design bureau was spun off into Bemotion Group, which appointed Tórgisi as its first CEO.
The traditional 30-minute news programs were forgone in favor of hourly 5-minute "news pills" (Șirdopíldoria) in 1998.
be5tv.kl and be5net were launched in 2002. The first served as the website for the television channel, whereas the second was more akin to a web portal with chatrooms, forums, a web search bar, a website constructor and blogging and social networking functionalities, in "convergence between Internet and television". In 2007, be5tv.kl was merged with be5net, and the latter became the official website of the channel.
Under Ienuvion's tenure, be5 began adapting game shows from abroad, such as Step Forward (Olio Ture; 2002–2006), hosted by Petrus Pétrusi.
In 2005, be5 entered the film production and distribution market through the creation of the subsidiary 5Kino.
In June 2012, be5 aired l00ky, popular web series in the vein of Ray William Johnson's Equals Three created and hosted by Marius "Darkmatter" Fergi. For be5, several episodes of l00ky would be re-edited into a single TV episode. Fergi would later collaborate with be5 for Anatomy of Virality (Virusardoiokare), a documentary miniseries which attempts to recreate some of videos featured on l00ky.
2013 was marked by the debut of the series Wandering Daughter (Ohalnakson Jon), produced by Major Arcana Productions, which was co-founded by Ienuvion. Wandering Daughter became the first Kalhan-language series to feature openly LGBT+ characters.
Following Ienuvion's resignation as CEO in 2016, Șirdopíldoria director Teodora Kirerigi was appointed CEO.
Idents
Influenced by his experience in advertising, Tórgisi intended be5 to make use of carefully-crafted visual identity, and wrote a two-word guideline for its idents: "be weird". Some of the channel's idents, designed by Bemotion Group, have won prestigious awards.
Former logos
Logo used from 1987 to 2007
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