Scuzz
SDTV) | |
Ownership | |
---|---|
Owner | Sony Pictures Television |
History | |
Launched | 17 April 2003 |
Closed | 15 November 2018 |
Scuzz was a British 24-hour rock and metal music television channel owned and operated by Sony Pictures Television. It was launched on 17 April 2003 and went on to be the highest-rated[citation needed] rock TV station on the Sky satellite platform, available in over 12 million homes[1] in the UK and Ireland. The channel was abruptly closed on 15 November 2018.
The channel broadcast mainstream
all first appeared on UK TV on Scuzz.History
Sky ownership
In March 2003,
Scuzz would launch with its sister networks on 17 April 2003.[3] Scuzz through its life focused exclusively on the heavy metal and rock genres.[citation needed]
In September 2004, due to poor viewing figures and ratings, Sky announced that Chart Show Channels would take over operating Scuzz, Flaunt and The Amp beginning in January 2005, although they would retain full ownership in all three channels, alongside advertising control.[4]
Scuzz was given a new look and revamp on 1 April 2006. Replacing the old black and white logo and song titles to a blue, smokey look. After the revamp the channel had begun to air more special, dedicated shows, such as a live performance from the metalcore group Trivium, and a weekend devoted to Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames.[citation needed]
CSC ownership
Sky announced in November 2006 that their music channels would go Free-to-Air beginning on 11 December, and soon afterwards transitioned full ownership to Chart Show Channels in December 2006, previously, Scuzz alongside its sister music channels were encrypted in
On 6 November 2007 Scuzz and its sister channels from the ex-NTL Virgin Media areas following a failure of an agreement from Chart Show Channels for the networks to be made available in the ex-Telewest areas, alongside Virgin Media focusing more on their free On-Demand services.[5]
On 21 December 2007, Scuzz was once again revamped; being given a much more industrial style look.
On 17 November 2008 a +1 timeshift of Scuzz, Scuzz +1, was launched. It was available 24 hours a day on Sky channel 375. This was
On Tuesday 29 September 2009, Scuzz was removed from Freesat channel 502 and replaced with sister channel Flava.
On 5 June 2013, Scuzz swapped positions with Flava on Sky. The channel moved from 374 to 367 (to sit next to Kerrang!), while Flava moved from 367 to 374.
Sony Ownership
On 2 March 2015, Scuzz launched Animax Movie Nights,[9] a block, provided by Sony Pictures Television under the Animax brand, that aired anime films streamed on SVOD in the UK and Ireland by the British version of Animax, which launched on 24 October 2013,[10] on Thursday nights.
After 15 years the channel closed on 15 November 2018, along with sister channel Sony Crime Channel 2 culminating with special shows celebrating the channel's history. The last video played on the channel was "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" by Bowling for Soup. "Resist" by Shadows Chasing Ghosts was the final video to be played in full, as the signal was cut halfway through the former.
Music
The channel showed many exclusive music videos for their first time. Scuzz often played live concerts including
They showed various interview shows including 'On Record', 'Scuzz Meets', 'The Lowdown' which centered around British rock festival 'Download Festival', and later a series called Access All Areas. Scuzz TV presenters included Terry 'Beez' Bezer, Sophie K, Daniel P. Carter, Jon Mahon, and Matt Stocks.
Scuzz had a presence at the majority of the UK, and some international rock festivals. Scuzz's festival partnerships at time of closure included:
- Download Festival
- Sonisphere
- Bloodstock Open Air
- Hevy Festival
- Slam Dunk Festival
- Vans Warped TourUSA
- Vans Warped TourUK
- Mayhem Festival USA
- Hellfest France
- 2000 Trees Festival
On-air music video blocks/shows (at time of closure)
- Back2Back
- Rock All Stars
- New Noise
- Antiques Rock Show
- Ass-Kicking Metal
- #Rockbox (interactive block)
- Shredtime Stories
On-air identity
-
The original Scuzz logo (17 April 2003 – 1 April 2006)
-
The second Scuzz logo (1 April 2006 – 21 December 2007)
-
The third Scuzz logo (21 December 2007 – 12 May 2011)
-
The fourth Scuzz logo (13 May 2011 – 24 February 2015)
-
The fifth and final Scuzz logo (24 February 2015 – 15 November 2018)
References
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "BSkyB confirms three music channels".
- ^ "MEDIA: FLAUNT, THE AMP, SCUZZ - AN EXPErt's VIEW. You don't need to be a teenager to enjoy Sky's three new music channels, Graeme Canter says".
- TheGuardian.com. 14 September 2004.
- ^ "Virgin TV removes Bliss, Flaunt, Scuzz". Digital Spy. 6 November 2007.
- ^ "Flava replaces Scuzz on Freesat". The Airwaves. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
- ^ "Scuzz To Return To Freesat This Week". Join Freesat. 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Update Scan". Join Freesat. 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Scuzz TV launch Animax Movie Nights". UK Anime Network. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ^ "UK Anime Network - Animax UK now online".
External links
- Scuzz - Official site
- Scuzz's channel on YouTube