Investigation Discovery

Background

Investigation Discovery (often abbreviated as "ID" since 2020) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86,062,000 American households receive Investigation Discovery. The channel launched in 1996 under the name . It was one of four digital cable companion networks rolled out by Discovery Communications simultaneously in October 1996. Plans for the channel had surfaced in November 1994.

Discovery Civilization Network/Channel

1st Logo (1998-November, 2002)

Logoː We see the stretched text "CIVILIZATION" in black on a gold background. In the background, we see a skinny African-American looking towards the right, a clock showing the numbers in Roman Numerals, & a white rectangle with the white text "Discovery" below, where the text is appearing one-by-one. Once the text disappears, everything fades to a gold/grey background showing the text again & the same kid looking the same direction, plus another kid that's similar looking the left. The text gets smaller & once it does that, everything fades to a pair of arms below a gold globe on a gold background with a Double Ramp shape seen on the left. The text disappears after that, & it cuts to just the globe spinning & flickering a couple of times. Political Globes start appearing & the Gold Globe turns to another clock in Roman Numerals & Modern Numbers. The clock disappears, where it shows an African-American Women & one copy is seen on each side. Below it is the text "CIVILIZATION" in black unstretch itself & seen above a black rectangle with the same text in white stretching. The women disappears as another double ramp shape moves to the left seen on the right, which it, the text, & the rectangle disappears shortly, revealing 2 stretched text saying "CIVILIZATION" & a program playing on the same background. A face of a male is seen starring on the background, as well as 2 rectangles, a political globe, & yet another double ramp shape. It then cuts to a picture of 4 men holding clocks & 4 pictures of a hispanic man's head rotating in the same directions in different times on the same gold background. The picture fades out, revealing a clock seen in the background, a globe appearing & getting to nearly the center of the screen, 7 pictures of a British Man seen on the bottom, & 4 pictures of a person. As the political globe gets to said position, the text "CIVILIZATION" is seen in black with 2 bars in orange seen on the top & bottom of the text. The yellow text "Discovery" appears on top of the top orange bar & the white text "CHANNEL" is seen inside of the bottom bar.

FX/SFXː A Combination of 3D Animation, & Live-Action.

Music/Soundsː It starts off as a choir. Then an instrumental fanfare is heard through the logo.

Availabilityː Extinct on Television. Seen as an ID at the time.

Editor's Noteː A Complex Logo to say the least, especially for the time, as some only got primitive animation.

2nd Logo (November, 2002-2003)

Logoː We see multiple silver spheres showing programs made by Investigation Discovery from 1999-2002 appearing on a black background with a spotlight. We then see the President of the company, Henry Schleiff, walking while talking. It then cuts to an angle of Henry still talking as more silver spheres appear. We then cut to another angle of him talking while more silver spheres are shown.The camera then zooms out to see all of the silver spheres organizing. The camera gets wider, revealing the spheres to turn into Henry talking & back, getting seperated. We then cut to him walking with the spheres. One of the spheres turn into a political globe as the camera turns sided. Two Double Ramp Shapes appear in both sides & the Discovery Civilization Channel logo appears & gets to the center of the screen.

FX/SFXː See 1st Logo.

Music/Soundsː A peaceful instrumental song is heard, as well as Henry saying "As we glide to our future, we look back to observe the driving forces behind the evolution of our society. The Conquest of Vision, the shape of our civilization, changes are happening quickly. Are you watching?"

Availabilityː See 1st Logo.

Editor's Noteː A rather interesting ID for the company.

Discovery Times Channel

1st Logo (2003-2008?)

Logoː We see the text "Discovery" in blue on a white rectangle, the text "Times" in white on a blue rectangle, a political globe between the text & rectangles, & the blue text "CHANNEL" below the text "Times" & right beside a thin blue rectangle on a white background with a video of a globe spinning.

Variantː In Special Presentations, the white text "SPECIAL PRESENTATION" is seen below the logo.

FX/SFXː 2D Animation.

Music/Soundsː A horn can be heard, & often times an announcer.

Availabilityː Extinct on Television. It was seen once on a September 18th, 2008 Investigation Discovery airing to Thomas L. Friedman Reporting.

Discovery Channel

1st Logo (2008-2012)

• 
  Fingerprint
• 
  Footprint
• 
  Rose

Logoː We see something happening (see variants), mostly focusing on crime. We then see the white text "ID" above the text "INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY" also in white & a political globe can be seen next to the text "ID"

Variantsː There were 3 Major IDs found so far.

• Fingerprintː We start off as a close-up of a wine cup. We then see another shot of the cup in the living room. We get closer to the cup, where we see a fingerprint on the cup. We get closer to the fingerprint. Then, the camera gets on the fingerprint. Then some light-up comets & gadgets get together to make the Investigation Discovery logo next to vertical bars.
• Footprintː We see a shot of a crime scene in California. We get closer, where we see a footprint. Then we cut to a black background with different footprints seen flashing with studies in text flashing. The back footprint has "MATCH" right next to it. The background turns white, the footprint turns black, & it has "98% Match" right next to it. Then it cuts to the "TREAD BRAND" & studies of a weapon, where it fades to a receipt of Sporting Goods. It then cuts to a man getting handcuffed while it shows 3 shots. It then cuts to a man holding a picture of the footprint on a black background in front of the government. We get closer to the footprint to see a Mallet & the Investigation Discovery logo on a brown background.
• Roseː We see a close-up of a rose, where the camera moves to see glass falling. Then the camera goes upwards, where the rose splits & rose leaves start falling instead of glass. We then see the Investigation Discovery logo.

FX/SFXː Live-Action.

Music/Soundsː A Mysterious theme is heard.

Availabilityː Extinct on Television.

Editor's Noteː By far the best representation of the company.

2nd Logo (2012-2014)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Logoː We see a random live scene, all involving people. We then see a transparent cube with a blue "ID" in center get to the center of the screen. The white text "INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY" is seen below the cube. Then the text "ALWAYS REVEALING" appears below the text.

FX/SFXː Live-Action for the live scenes, then 3D for the logo.

Music/Soundsː Whatever is going on in the live scene, as well as a short mysterious theme (not similar to the logo above).

Availabilityː Extinct on Television.

3rd Logo (2014-2020)

• 
• 
  On Demand
• 
  Grey Version

Logoː We see a black cube with the white text "ID" doing the same animation as before on a blue background.

Variantsː

• Sometimes, the background is grey & the text "ALWAYS REVEALING" appears.
• A Station ID exists where we see a close-up of the cube. Then the text & the cube spin as it gets to the center of the screen. Once it does that, "INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY" can be seen.
• It can be seen on demand where the cube & the text are the same color as the last logo. Also, the text "ON DEMAND" appears.

FX/SFXː 3D Animation.

Music/Soundsː Same as the last logo, plus an announcer saying "Investigate".

Music/Sound Variantsː

• For the station ID, none.
• For the On Demand variant, only an announcer saying "You're watching Investigation Discovery on Demand" is heard.

Availabilityː Extinct on Television. Still Uncommon, as it can be seen on it's programs on Hulu & Prime Video.

Editor's Noteː This was the most infamous out of the company's IDs due to it's long usage & helds up a favorite to some fans.

4th Logo (2020-)

Logoː We see red go by on a black background. Then the current Investigation Discovery logo forms in red.

Variantː Sometimes, we get closer to the "ID" & it gets blurred. We also see the text "AN ID ORIGINAL" in white.

FX/SFXː 3D Animation.

Music/Soundsː A soft & dramatic orchestral fanfare.

Availabilityː Current.

Editor's Noteː Like some logos nowadays, this was a letdown to fans & was boring from the start, although the music is good.