Horror Channel

Horror Channel
Launched	3 May 2004
Owned by	CBS Studios International/ AMC Networks International Zone
Picture format	576i 16:9 (SDTV)
Audience share	UK: 0.33% 0.03% (+1) (September 2016 (2016-09), BARB)
Broadcast area	United Kingdom Ireland Italy
Formerly called	UK & Ireland The Horror Channel (until June 2006) Zone Horror (until 5 April 2010) Italy Zone Fantasy (until 6 September 2011)
Sister channel(s)	AMC CBS Action CBS Drama CBS Europa CBS Reality Extreme Sports Channel
Timeshift service	Horror Channel +1
Website	www.horrorchannel.co.uk
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview UK	Channel 70
Satellite
Freesat UK	Channel 138 Channel 139 (+1)
Sky UK & Ireland	Channel 319 Channel 320 (+1)
Eutelsat 28A	11261 H 27500 2/3 11222 H 27500 2/3 (+1)
Sky Italy	Channel 134
Cable
Virgin Media UK	Channel 149 Channel 202 (+1)
WightFibre UK	Channel 114
Streaming media
Virgin TV Anywhere	Watch live (UK only)
FilmOn	Watch live

The Horror Channel (formerly Zone Horror) is a British television channel showing Horror films and television series and some science fiction. It is broadcast in the UK, Ireland and Italy.

Specialized programming includes cult films, classic horror, comedy, B movies, modern thrillers, series, home-produced specials, biographies and documentaries.

The Horror Channel is available as a free-to-air service on Eutelsat 28A and, since Friday the 13th of March 2015, on Freeview channel 70. The launch on the Freeview platform increased its viewership by some 300%.^[1]

Horror Channel was available until 2 June 2015 on the YouView platform.

History

The Horror Channel was created by Tony Hazell, who had worked for the God Channel. The Horror Channel went into administration on 21 September 2004.^[2][3] 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.

Zone Vision Networks Ltd. agreed to acquire the Horror Channel for an undisclosed sum on 17 June 2005.^[4] In June 2006, the Horror Channel was renamed "Zone Horror" after Zone Vision Networks was renamed Zonemedia. It became a part of the Chellomedia content division of Liberty Global in 2005.^[5]

Zone Horror +1 was launched on Sky on 1 July 2008 replaced Zone Reality Extra.

On 30 October 2006, Zonemedia launched Zone Horror in the Netherlands.^[6] On 1 July 2009, the channel was dropped from cable in the Netherlands.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

On 5 April 2010, Zone Horror was renamed "Horror Channel", following the renaming of the portfolio’s other three channels in November 2009.^[10] On-air the channel name appears as Horror. The rebrand was produced by Chello Zone’s in-house creative services team.

As of May 2014 the channel's pre-show idents incorporated a prominent CBS eye even though CBS does not appear in the channel's name.

Zone Fantasy rebranded by Horror Channel in Italy on 6 September 2011.^[11]

On 21 August 2012, a pre-watershed simulcast of the Horror Channel began broadcasting in Sky's Entertainment genre on channel 198,^[12] followed by three hours of Psychic Today after 9.00 pm. This version of the channel was replaced by Reality TV, a simulcast of CBS Reality with a Psychic Today block, on 20 May 2013.

On 9 March 2015, the Horror Channel appeared on Freeview channel 70 as a placeholder channel, and on 13 March 2015 Horror Channel started broadcasting fully and is the third of the CBS family to move to Freeview in under a year.

The channel restructured on Freeview from 10 December 2015, requiring all Freeview viewers to retune their set-top boxes, although the channel number did not change.

Films

Horror Channel airs a wide range of films, mainly horror, although it does air many which contain horror themes, such as action, comedy and thriller films, many of which are premièred as part of a specific season of films. Originally, the channel began airing many classic films of mixed genres including The Killer Shrews, Lady of Burlesque, Carnival of Souls and The City of the Dead. It is known for its showing of B movie classics, Troll 2, Brian Damage, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Frogs, and Slugs. It also premiered many Jean Rollin movies, which were shown as part of a Jean Rollin season and European cinema classics such as The Devil's Nightmare, Nude for Satan and Black Magic Rites. Troma films Mother's Day and The Toxic Avenger movies where shown during the early years of Horror Channel. Many of these films were unknown to UK and Irish viewers at the time, but well known classics, such as the first three Hellraiser films where part of the channel. When the channel was renamed Zone Horror in 2006, many of the older films were shown only at random times and very were rarely premièred, as many new low-budget and independent films began showing, more usually than before the renaming. In 2010 it was renamed again as Horror Channel, and it returned to its roots, with many new horror classic airing, including, The Evil Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Happy Birthday to Me and The Incredible Melting Man. In 2011, the channel premièred films from directors Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento. Many films were also airing that had been recently released by Home Entertainment company Arrow Films. 2011's highlights also included the "Horror Horreur" season for September, and the "Hammer Horror" season for October, and a "Season of the Banned" for November.

Programmes

List of past and current TV series, mini-series & television films that have aired on Horror Channel:

Logos

Logos of Horror Channel
Original logo from 2004-2006  Rebranded Zone Horror from 2006 to 2009

References

External links

• Official website