Cloo

Cloo was an American pay television channel owned and operated by NBCUniversal. It launched on January 1, 2006, replacing the general-interest cable network Trio, and initially positioned itself around crime, mystery, suspense, and investigative entertainment. The channel was part of NBCUniversal’s portfolio of specialty networks and relied heavily on programming drawn from the company’s extensive television and film libraries, including material associated with NBC, USA Network, and other group properties. The network originally operated under the name Sleuth. Its schedule combined older scripted series, police and detective dramas, crime-oriented reality programming, documentaries, and mystery or suspense films. Early programming included series such as Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Dragnet, Emergency!, Adam-12, Knight Rider, The Equalizer, Homicide: Life on the Street, JAG, Profiler, Magnum, P.I., and The Rockford Files. The channel also carried films including Scarface, The Jackal, Casino, Sneakers, and Mercury Rising. This programming gave Sleuth a recognizable genre identity based on library content rather than a large slate of new productions. NBCUniversal renamed Sleuth as Cloo on August 15, 2011. The change was intended to create a name that NBCUniversal could trademark and control more easily, avoid possible confusion with Hasbro’s Clue board game, and provide a distinctive spelling for online search and brand identification. The rebrand retained the channel’s crime-and-mystery association but did not lead to a sustained expansion of original programming. In September 2011, Cloo premiered Dateline on Cloo, a repackaged selection of Dateline NBC true-crime episodes, and Killer Instinct, a 13-part series featuring criminal profiler Mark Safarik. Both original series ended after their first seasons. Over time, Cloo’s schedule moved increasingly toward repeated broadcasts of programs available elsewhere. From 2009 onward, the channel added marathons and reruns of USA Network series such as Monk and In Plain Sight, as well as NCIS, Law & Order programs, and acquired Canadian series including Da Vinci’s Inquest and Cold Squad. Later schedules were dominated by repeats of USA Network productions and marathons from the Law & Order, NCIS, and CSI franchises. The channel also aired programs and films that were not closely connected to crime or mystery, including titles from NBCUniversal’s broader library. This evolution made Cloo an example of channel drift: its programming increasingly departed from its original genre promise while remaining centered on inexpensive, repeatable library content. Cloo’s distribution weakened as cable and satellite operators reassessed low-originality specialty networks. Dish Network dropped the channel in August 2013, citing duplication with other networks and streaming services. Verizon FiOS removed it in August 2014 for similar reasons. In January 2017, Charter Communications systems, including Spectrum, Bright House Networks, and Time Warner Cable, declined to continue carrying Cloo under revised NBCUniversal carriage arrangements. The change removed roughly two-thirds of the channel’s households and reduced its estimated reach to about 8.5 million homes. NBCUniversal shut down Cloo on February 1, 2017, amid a broader effort to eliminate underperforming or redundant networks. The channel’s final broadcast consisted of a marathon of Syfy’s Continuum. After the last episode, an end-of-service slide thanked viewers and displayed NBCUniversal branding and technical transmission information. Cloo’s social media accounts were removed, and its website redirected to USA Network. NBCUniversal subsequently repositioned Oxygen as a true-crime-focused network, helping address some of the audience and programming space left by Cloo’s closure.

Cloo began as Sleuth, an NBCUniversal-owned American pay television network launched on January 1, 2006, as the replacement for Trio. Its initial concept was a dedicated outlet for crime, mystery, suspense, and investigative entertainment. Rather than depending primarily on expensive new productions, the network drew on NBCUniversal’s film and television libraries and on programming associated with sister networks. This approach allowed it to assemble a broad schedule of police procedurals, detective dramas, classic action series, crime films, documentaries, and reality programs. The early Sleuth schedule included library titles such as Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Dragnet, Emergency!, Adam-12, Knight Rider, The Equalizer, Homicide: Life on the Street, JAG, Profiler, Magnum, P.I., and The Rockford Files. Its film inventory included crime and suspense titles such as Scarface, The Jackal, Casino, Sneakers, and Mercury Rising. In February 2007, the channel used a 14-hour film block called Chiller On Sleuth to promote Chiller, a related NBCUniversal horror and suspense network that launched shortly afterward. The network’s programming strategy changed substantially in January 2009. Many earlier titles were removed and replaced by marathons and repeats of NBCUniversal and USA Network programming, including Monk and In Plain Sight. NCIS, Law & Order programs, and Canadian series such as Da Vinci’s Inquest and Cold Squad also became part of the schedule. The channel continued to use a crime-oriented label, but its increasing dependence on reruns made it less distinct from other cable channels and from emerging streaming catalogues. On August 15, 2011, NBCUniversal renamed Sleuth Cloo. The company sought a distinctive name it could trademark and use consistently online. The spelling also avoided direct confusion with Hasbro’s Clue board game and with the common words “clue” and “sleuth.” The new name preserved the channel’s association with crime-solving while creating a more proprietary brand identity. Cloo made a limited attempt to add original programming in September 2011. It premiered Dateline on Cloo, which repackaged Dateline NBC episodes around true-crime stories, and Killer Instinct, a 13-part series featuring criminal profiler Mark Safarik. Neither program continued beyond its first season. In later years, the channel relied increasingly on marathons of established franchises, including Law & Order, NCIS, and CSI, alongside USA Network repeats and films from the NBCUniversal library. Some films shown on the channel, such as Enchanted, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bee Movie, had little direct relationship to crime or mystery. This broadening of the schedule was frequently characterized as channel drift. Cloo also lost access to particular syndicated properties over time. Walker, Texas Ranger left the schedule after its rights expired in 2015, while COPS moved to Cloo in September 2014 after leaving the former G4 network, before Spike became the sole owner of its cable syndication rights in early 2016. Much of the older programming that had been associated with the network eventually migrated to Cozi TV, another NBCUniversal-related outlet. Distribution declines accelerated after 2013. Dish Network removed Cloo on August 10, 2013, arguing that its rerun-heavy programming duplicated material available elsewhere. Verizon FiOS made a comparable decision on August 18, 2014. In January 2017, Charter Communications systems did not retain Cloo in new carriage agreements with NBCUniversal. The change affected a substantial portion of the network’s remaining distribution, reducing it to approximately 8.5 million households. NBCUniversal had been reviewing specialty channels that lacked original programming since at least 2016. Cloo, Chiller, and Esquire Network fit the company’s criteria for potentially redundant services. Cloo closed on February 1, 2017, with its final broadcast day devoted to a Continuum marathon. The channel ended with a technical sign-off slide and NBCUniversal branding. Its online properties were removed or redirected to USA Network. Several months later, NBCUniversal announced that Oxygen would be refocused as a true-crime network, filling part of the programming niche that Cloo had occupied.

1. 2017Cloo closes

   Cloo ended operations on February 1 after declining carriage and NBCUniversal’s review of redundant specialty networks.

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2. 2014Verizon FiOS drops the channel

   Verizon FiOS ended carriage of Cloo amid concerns about redundant programming.

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3. 2013Dish Network drops the channel

   Dish Network removed Cloo, pointing to the duplication of its rerun-heavy programming.

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4. 2011Sleuth becomes Cloo

   NBCUniversal renamed Sleuth Cloo on August 15 to create a more distinctive, controllable, and search-friendly brand name.

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5. 2011First original series debut

   Dateline on Cloo and Killer Instinct premiered in September. Both original series were discontinued after one season.

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6. 2009Schedule shifts toward reruns

   The channel replaced much of its earlier lineup with NBCUniversal and USA Network repeats, including Monk, In Plain Sight, NCIS, Law & Order programs, and acquired Canadian series.

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7. 2007Chiller promotion on Sleuth

   Sleuth aired a 14-hour film marathon called Chiller On Sleuth to promote the launch of the related Chiller network.

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8. 2006Sleuth launches

   NBCUniversal launched Sleuth on January 1 as a U.S. pay television channel focused on crime, mystery, suspense, and related library programming, replacing Trio.

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A U.S. specialty pay-TV network initially positioned around crime, mystery, suspense, and investigative entertainment, later functioning largely as a repeat-driven outlet for NBCUniversal library programming and syndicated series.

• ClooPay television network2006

  Cloo was a U.S. cable network that initially specialized in crime, mystery, suspense, and investigative entertainment. Its programming consisted mainly of NBCUniversal library titles, USA Network repeats, syndicated police and detective series, true-crime material, and feature films. In its later period, the network became increasingly reliant on marathons and repeat broadcasts, including Law & Order, NCIS, and CSI programming. Cloo ceased broadcasting in 2017.

• Dateline on ClooTrue-crime television series2011

  Dateline on Cloo was a repackaged programming strand built from Dateline NBC episodes focused on true-crime stories. It represented one of Cloo’s attempts to create programming specifically associated with its crime-oriented identity.

• Killer InstinctTrue-crime television series2011

  Killer Instinct was a 13-part original true-crime series featuring criminal profiler Mark Safarik. It premiered on Cloo in September 2011 and was cancelled after its first season.

• 2007Chiller On Sleuth

  United States

  Sleuth aired a 14-hour movie marathon to promote the forthcoming launch of Chiller, an NBCUniversal sister network devoted to horror and suspense programming.

  Outcome. The event served as a cross-promotional preview for Chiller, which launched several days later.

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• 2017Close the Cloo networkStrategy

  Cloo faced declining distribution, substantial schedule duplication, limited original programming, and a broader NBCUniversal review of redundant specialty channels.

  What changed. NBCUniversal discontinued Cloo on February 1, 2017.

  Aftermath. The channel’s digital properties were removed or redirected to USA Network. NBCUniversal later repositioned Oxygen as a true-crime network, occupying part of the space left by Cloo.

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• 2011Rename Sleuth as ClooStrategy

  NBCUniversal wanted a distinctive name that it could trademark and control more readily than the common terms associated with the former Sleuth identity. The company also sought to avoid confusion with Hasbro’s Clue board game.

  What changed. The network was renamed Cloo on August 15, 2011.

  Aftermath. The new name remained in use until the network closed in 2017, while the schedule continued to rely largely on crime-related library programming and repeats.

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• 2011Introduce original Cloo seriesProduct launch

  Cloo sought to supplement its library-based schedule with programming more directly aligned with true crime.

  What changed. The channel premiered Dateline on Cloo and Killer Instinct in September 2011.

  Aftermath. Both shows ended after their first seasons, and the channel remained predominantly dependent on acquired and repeat programming.

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• 2017Charter systems ended Cloo carriage

  Charter Communications systems, including Spectrum, Bright House Networks, and Time Warner Cable, did not renew Cloo’s carriage in revised NBCUniversal agreements. The decision sharply reduced the channel’s household reach shortly before its closure.

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• 2017Cloo ceased broadcasting

  NBCUniversal closed Cloo on February 1, ending the channel’s U.S. pay-TV operation after more than eleven years. Its website redirected to USA Network and its social media presences were removed.

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• 2014Verizon FiOS removed Cloo

  Verizon FiOS ended carriage of Cloo, with the channel’s repeated and increasingly redundant programming cited as the reason for the removal.

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• 2013Dish Network dropped Cloo

  Dish Network removed Cloo from its lineup, citing the duplicative nature of the channel’s rerun-oriented programming compared with content available on other networks and streaming services.

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• 2011Sleuth channel rebranded as Cloo

  NBCUniversal changed the name of its crime-and-mystery cable channel from Sleuth to Cloo. The distinctive spelling was intended to support trademark ownership, search visibility, and separation from the Clue board game brand.

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1. Cloo