Horror

The Horror Channel launched on 3rd May 2004 and was created by Tony Hazell, who had worked for the God Channel, along with horror writer, producer and director Jonathan Sothcott as head of programming. The channel quickly 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.Ian Cull, operations director of The Horror Channel, said: "It has been a fiery phoenix that has risen again, and this time with private equity investors rather than venture capitalists. We gave Northern Enterprise an opportunity not to lose out. We said we could turn this around if they put more money in and they declined. We had no option but to go into administration. We aim to pay back the creditors within two to three years. That, however, does not include NEL."Zone Vision Networks Ltd acquire the Horror Channel for an undisclosed sum on 17 June 2005, and In June 2006, the Horror Channel was renamed "Zone Horror" after Zone Vision Networks was renamed Zonemedia. Zonemedia chairman Chris Wronski said: "Our new look reflects the developments that have taken place in the business in recent years, which encompass the launch of new satellite channels, as well as web and WAP sites.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 Zone Reality, and timeshift services Zone Horror +1 and Zone Reality +1.

2004 – 2010

2010 – 2013

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. Chris Sharp, Chello Zone's chief programming officer said: "Following last year's successful rebranding of our other UK entertainment channels, we were aiming to create a brand refresh for Zone Horror that reflects similar design values, without alienating the dedicated audience base who appreciate the channel's origins,

2013 – 2017

On 10th April 2013, the CBS family of channels broadcast in the UK – including Horror Channel – were refreshed with a new logo and idents that had been introduced earlier in the year across Europe and the Middle East. The new look was created by Studio Hansa.

2017 – Present

In 2017 April Horror was given a refreash created by Holman + Hunt London. We have come to consume our media in an echo chamber of reference and commentary, and this, among other things, has made it difficult to scare us. The classic principles of horror – much like its close cousin comedy – are largely built on the elements of surprise and misdirection, and these are becoming ineffective for the simple reason that we are now so familiar with the tropes of terror, we can no longer be surprised or misdirected (and indeed some studies show that we no longer even crave such things in our entertainment).Richard Holman, creative director of Holman + Hunt said: "A more chilling and permanent way to disturb people is to activate a sense of things being not quite right in conforming to the way we understand the world, to do it by suggestion and implication rather than making something overt. The function of this identity is to establish that mood as the bedrock for the entire channel. The effectiveness of H+H's Horror Channel rebrand can be boiled down to the following components: 1) A series of 12 stylish, boldly subtle IDs that favor a sense of unease over traditional scare tactics. 2) An extreme minimalist on-screen graphics package driven by frightening red clouds that spread across the screen like a nightmare. And 3) a thrumming, painstakingly crafted soundscape by sound designer Simon James that was made possible because, unlike most channels, Horror Channel does not carry a continuity voiceover.Matt Stott, director of creative, marketing and communications for AMC Networks International UK " Our viewers pride themselves in [their knowledge of] the genre, added "They love and read and research. They cross-reference series and films and they go on forums and talk about it and they engage in digital and social media. They're very informed and literate because of that To speak to these fans in an authentic fashion, one of their own was brought in to direct the idents: Chris Turner, a seasoned collaborator with Holman + Hunt and AMC, and a horror buff in his own right with a track record of crafting works that chill the bones.Idea behide the ident was to execute each one with a single shot H+H stated "We called it 'creeping in.' The word 'creeping' was intentionally used to draw you in deeper to this unnerving moment.The whole project was shortlisted as Top 10 Rebrands of 2017 on PromaxBDA.Creative Director: Richard Holman, Executive Producer: Lucy Hunt, Director (Horror): Chris Turner

In May 2019, a new set of Daytime idents were introduced.