When the channel first launched in 2005, it mostly focused on US dramas and repeats of Channel 4 programmes. Having shown all five weekday editions of The Daily Show since More4's launch, in January 2011 the channel scaled back its commitment to one episode a week in order to increase investment in its arts programming. On 23 January 2012, More4 refocused towards more lifestyle based content. Documentaries which previously aired on the channel moved to its parent station Channel 4.
Branding
2005–2012
In September 2005, Channel 4 began running teaser trailers for the new station. Showing neon lettering, the teasers hinted at "adult entertainment". Some people may have been confused by the deliberate double-meaning of these trailers and mistakenly presumed the new channel would be of a pornographic nature. The Daily Mail refused to accept launch advertising for the channel on these grounds. Advertisements starting at the end of September made it much clearer that the "adult entertainment" being offered was the 'intelligent and insightful' programming. Viewing figures for the launch date gave More4 an average figure of 269,000 viewers, compared to E4's 296,000. The original More4 branding was designed by Spin and animated by DBLG.
2012–2018
On 23 January 2012, More4 adopted a new logo and on-air branding. The logo and channel idents were designed by London-based design and motion company ManvsMachine and Channel 4's in-house agency, 4Creative. The repositioning of the brand coincided with the channel's move towards more lifestyle content and a move away from documentaries and arts. The idents focus on moving mechanical "scrapbooks" which also refers to the Digital Scrapbook platform.
2018-present
A new logo and branding was introduced in 2018. The branding was not major, the idents stayed the same but the logo was changed. This was part of the Channel 4 major rebranding across all their channels.
Availability
Space was reserved on Freeview multiplex C for the channel. However, despite Channel 4 saying that the channel would appear on multiplex C, the channel appeared on multiplex 2. A place holder appeared on the Freeview EPG at number 13 on 13 September and after a time, ran a looping teaser trailer. More4 +1 became available on the DTT platform on 14 December 2005. It was removed on 18 May 2006, to make way for live coverage of Big Brother, and the Freeview launch of Film4 later in the year. While More4 is available on most cable platforms, More4 +1 was available on Virgin Media until 20 August 2007 when it was replaced by Channel 4 +1 across the digital television network. It was re-added on 15 January 2013. Despite initial advertising and official internet communication that it would be free-to-air on satellite television, More4 was encrypted under Sky's pay TV scheme until 6 May 2008 when it dropped its NDS encryption and went free-to-air. It joined the BBC and ITV's new satellite platform, Freesat on the same day. More4 is available outside the UK where it is available to viewers in Ireland via Sky and Virgin Media Ireland's digital service. This led to further speculation that Channel 4 would eventually launch on Sky in Ireland, which it did in December 2006. Channel 4 has already made its other flagship channels: E4, E4 +1, Film4 and Film4 +1 available in Ireland via Sky, Virgin Media Irelanddigital TV providers. Channel 4 itself is available on almost all Irish cable and MMDS systems. In Switzerland, the channel is available among other Channel 4 branded channels on UPC Switzerland and on Swisscom TV. More4 +2 launched on 16 April 2012 on Sky channel 269, in the lifestyle section of the guide. The temporary channel, which aired for a limited period between 7:45 pm and 11.00 pm, was short lived, because it closed on 26 June 2012 ahead of the launch of 4seven on 4 July.
HD feed
Channel 4 anticipated that More4 HD would launch in 2011, however a launch did not occur. As part of More4's rebrand in January 2012, ManvsMachine created the channel logo for More4 HD. On 14 September 2012, Channel 4 announced that More4 HD would launch on Sky. The channel then launched on 4 February 2013. More4 HD also became available to Virgin Media viewers on channel 203 on 1 October 2013.
