Philippines

Coordinates: 13°N 122°E / 13°N 122°E / 13; 122

The Philippines (ⁱ/ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,500 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.

To the north of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; Vietnam sits west across the South China Sea; southwest lies Malaysia in the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 72nd-largest country in the world.

Universal Channel

Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms. They were formerly branded as USA Network until 2003 when the name was changed to take more advantage of the Universal branding, but continue programming as that network does like a general interest network.

Launched in other countries

Original launch

Universal Channel was officially launched on December 1, 2007 in Poland and Romania; on May 30, 2008 in Russia; and on July 1, 2008 in Southeast Asia. In Latin America the channel is owned by NBC Universal but is controlled and broadcast by Fox Latin American Channels and Globosat in Brazil. On May 7, 2009, this channel was launched in Greece.

Re-branded in selected countries

In South Africa, Hallmark Channel was re-branded under that name on March 24, 2010 for DStv subscribers. In Japan, Sci Fi Channel re-branded to that name on April 1, 2010. In Australia, Hallmark Channel re-branded to that name on July 1, 2010. In Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and some former Yugoslavian countries Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia, Hallmark Channel was re-branded to that name on September 3, 2010. And in the Philippines, this channel was launched on July 26, 2010 and replaced the Sci Fi Channel (Philippines) which was rebranded as Universal Channel. On October 18, 2010, the Hallmark Channel in the UK and Ireland was rebranded, adopting the Universal Channel name.