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Mary Reinholz
Court TV announced a $10 million multimedia makeover, including a new thumbprint logo and new slogan, "Inside Crime, Inside Justice," that will debut on-air the week of April 12. Henry Schleiff, the network's recently named president and CEO, said the facelift is "part and parcel of a multi-faceted branding campaign" that taps into the public's fascination with justice issues, lurid court room dramas and builds on Court TV's own signature offerings of gavel to gavel trials since the network launched in 1991.
"This is the first significant makeover in the network's history," Schleiff said in a telephone interview. "The topic is as hot as we have seen in broadcast television. What we want to announce as clearly as we can is that we are the leader in providing information and entertainment on the general theme on a daily basis, seven days a week."
Schleiff added that Court TV in December had made a "promise at the Western show" to its affiliates, advertisers and viewers that "we would reinvigorate the network with a combination of compelling original product and well-recognized off network series like Homicide. We want to build on the successful brand recognition of Court TV."
Court TV began working with Lee Hunt Associates in Manhattan last November to develop the look and feel of the makeover, which follows the launch of its new primetime lineup. The package includes a series of network branding messages, redesigned studio sets and a web site that will flash the new logo. In a prepared statement, the network said it will also feature eight new network IDs (six for prime time and two for daytime), four transitional bumpers, daytime templates, lineup menus and animated beds for use behind templates. The musical identification, composed by Video Helper, smacks of suspense and intrigue.
Schleiff said the new look will be promoted with both national and local television spots as well as national spot radio in the top 35 markets. "We will also be purchasing print (ads) in both consumer and trade publications," he said, adding that the campaign has already drawn new (and unidentified) advertisers.
Another aspect to Court TV's redesign will be new interstitial programming. "We're using it to add additional information to what we're doing in one half-hour blocks," Schleiff said. For example, on April 18, at 2 p.m. (ET), the network would air a 14-hour marathon program called, The Mind of a Serial Killer, with interstitial programming to include commentary by Harold Schecter, an expert in the field of serial killers and a one-time consultant on the film, The Silence of the Lambs.
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