‘Amanpour Hour’ builds on host’s surname-centric brand

“The Amanpour Hour,” a weekly CNN show focused on news from around the world, debuted Nov. 5, 2023, creating a different take on the network’s international anchor’s existing brand name.

The Saturday morning hour is hosted by CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour, who has managed to create a brand around her last name — including using the name by itself as a handle on various social media platforms — so it makes sense to leverage that as part of the title, which also has unique alliteration thanks to how “H” is pronounced in the word “hour.”

Amanpour (the person) also hosts “Amanpour” — typically stylized with a period at the end on-screen — on CNN International.

CNN also helps produce the expanded version of “Amanpour,” known as “Amanpour & Company” for PBS.

All three shows use sans serif logotypes that emphasize the Amanpour surname — though the font varies. Red is also another shared element.

“Amanpour” uses a slightly narrower and simpler font. 

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“The Amanpour Hour” logo uses the same font as “Amanpour & Company” and does a fairly good job stacking and interlocking the words together. “The” is neatly tucked across the wide “m” while the capital “H” is tucked up next to the descender of the “p” above. 

The logo adds a horizontal line under “Amanpour” that stops briefly toward the center of the lockup to allow space for the aforementioned “H” and “p.” It picks up to the right of the descender and continues until just under the base of the lowercase “r.” The short distance between that point and the “arm” of the letter is filled with a square, which could be read as a nod to the period in the “Amanpour” logo.

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Square elements, meanwhile, appear in the graphics for all three shows — though it’s largely restricted to being used as scattered dots on a map and a flickering textural animated letter fill in the open of “Hour.”

Both “Amanpour” and “Amanpour & Company” use the square as a matrix-like pattern to create a world map background fed to the studio video walls. 

“The Amanpour Hour” uses the same London set used for both “Amanpour” and “Amanpour & Company” and that is also used for various other programs across CNN International originating from London.

It also appears on “CNN Newsroom Live” editions that are simulcast on CNN in the U.S. at 4 a.m. eastern each weekday.

Perhaps as a nod to the earlier weekend timeslot of “Hour,” the show’s video wall backgrounds use a softer blend of orange, yellow and teal with a solid world map. Blurred repeating text and transparent circular accents also appear, though the open veers more toward a red, white and blue color scheme with some hints of orange.