Cloo
| Cloo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched |
|
| Owned by | NBCUniversal Cable (NBCUniversal) |
| Picture format | |
| Slogan | Go figure. |
| Formerly called | Sleuth (2006–2011) |
| Replaced | Trio |
| Sister channel(s) | |
| Website |
www |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 308 (SD) |
| C-Band - H2H/4DTV | AMC 18 - 214 |
| Available on most cable systems | Check local listings |
| IPTV | |
| AT&T U-Verse | 161 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| PlayStation Vue | Internet Protocol television |
Cloo is a digital cable television channel with programming dedicated to the crime and mystery genres. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal. It launched on January 1, 2006, replacing Trio. Cloo debuted as Sleuth on DirecTV on June 1, 2006, and on Dish Network nine days later.
As of February 2015, approximately 25,495,000 American households (21.9% of households with television) received Cloo.[1]
History
Cloo focuses on mystery entertainment, with the majority of the channel's programming sourced from fellow Comcast networks such as NBC and USA Network. As of the fall of 2016 the network's schedule is made up mostly of repeats of current USA Network series, and marathons of acquired series from the Law and Order, NCIS and CSI franchises, along with the original MacGyver and House. Films from the NBCUniversal library or acquired as part of USA Network's film rights purchases also are part of the schedule, meaning films such as Enchanted, The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Bee Movie with nothing to do with crimes or mysteries air on the network.
Rebrand
On August 15, 2011 Cloo was rebranded from its former name of Sleuth, in order to be able to trademark and own the name, as the word "clue" itself is too common a name to be trademarkable and the commonness of both "sleuth" and "clue" would not work for search engine optimization. In addition, the different spelling averted any confusion with Hasbro's board game Clue.[2][3]
Carriage
On August 10, 2013, Cloo was dropped by Dish Network, which cited that most of the network's rerun-centric programming was duplicative of that available on other NBCUniversal networks and ION Television.[4] A year later on August 18, 2014, it was removed from Verizon FIOS, also for the same reason.[5] In reverse, the network was added to Charter Communications in December 2013 as a replacement for Cloo's moribund sister network G4.
Programming
Original programs
On September 17, 2011 Cloo premiered two original series, though these have since been discontinued or only air during holiday periods.
- Dateline on Cloo, featuring repurposed Dateline NBC episodes focused on true-crime stories.
- Killer Instinct, a 13-part true-crime series featuring criminal profiler Mark Safarik.
Syndicated
In January 2009, all shows from the lineup (see past programming) were removed and replaced with mainly NBCUniversal-produced, USA Network original shows, Monk and In Plain Sight to its lineup, running marathons of each program's episodes. CBS military-crime-drama series NCIS were also added to the channel's lineup, both of which are staples on USA Network, as well as another USA Network staple in Walker, Texas Ranger and two Canadian series, Da Vinci's Inquest and Cold Squad, that primarily aired in syndication nationwide. The Law & Order franchise also joined the channel. It recently started airing another Canadian series, The Eleventh Hour. However, it was renamed Bury the Lead, to differentiate it from the since-canceled CBS series of the same name.
The channel presently relies on reruns of the Law & Order franchise, House, NCIS, Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver, and various other series aired mainly on the USA Network in which it and the former are owned by NBCUniversal while the latter four are owned by CBS Television Studios. Though, Sony Pictures Television owns the U.S. television distribution rights to Walker. In September 2014, the rights to COPS previously held by now-defunct sister network G4 moved over to Cloo.
Past programming
The channel originally featured crime and mystery programming from NBCUniversal's extensive library of feature films, classic television shows, reality series and documentaries. Programming initially included popular and cult television series like Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Dragnet (1967–70 and 2003 versions), Knight Rider, The Equalizer, Homicide: Life on the Street, JAG and more recent cancelled series like EZ Streets, Karen Sisco, and Deadline. More recently, the channel has added programming from other studios, such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, and Sony.
Crime, mystery and suspense films like Scarface, The Jackal, Casino, Sneakers and Mercury Rising will be in the standard- and high-definition lineups, with at least 20 hours of content from the channels offered on demand at any given time to consumers.
In January 2007, the channel began airing Profiler, Magnum, P.I., The Rockford Files, The Burning Zone, Turks, Conviction, and Medical Investigation.
On February 25, 2007, the channel aired a fourteen-hour movie marathon entitled "Chiller On Sleuth" to promote the launch of Chiller, NBCUniversal's cable channel dedicated to horror and suspense programming that launched on March 1, 2007. The movies that aired during this marathon are Wait Until Dark, Psycho, I Saw What You Did (the 1988 version), and The Island.
References
- ↑ Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2015). "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of February 2015". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ↑ Exclusive: Sleuth Gets A New Name: Meet Cloo, TV Guide, April 7, 2011
- ↑ Exclusive: Newly Rebranded Cloo TV Picks Up First Original Series TV Guide July 15, 2011
- ↑ "Dish Network Facebook page response: "...We removed Cloo because most of the content they offered was available on other stations."". Facebook. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ↑ Lazarus, David (28 August 2014). "Why isn't your pay-TV bill reduced when a channel is removed?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 July 2015.