-By Anthony Crupi

Mojo HD, the male-skewing high-definition cable network that was launched in 2003 by distributor In Demand Networks, is going dark on Dec. 1.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 7), In Demand confirmed that it would pull the plug on Mojo, but was otherwise vague about why it had given up on the venture.

“The Mojo HD channel was originally conceived as a way to satisfy consumers’ thirst for pure true high definition programming,” the statement read. “While Mojo HD accomplished this goal, there is a wealth of HD programming now available and thus we have chosen to discontinue the service.”

Rumors about the demise of the service began circulating a few weeks ago, when cable operators quietly began removing Mojo from their channel line-ups. (In Demand is owned by a consortium of three top cable players: Comcast, Cox Communications and the Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership.)

The distributor re-launched the channel formerly known as INHD in May 2007, naming it after the male-friendly prime-time programming block it introduced in June of the previous year.

The Mojo moniker was meant to evoke an upscale, masculine sensibility. While INHD was an apt enough descriptor when the service bowed six years ago, the name conjured up little more than the technology behind the programming, so much so that retaining it would be analogous to offering subscribers something called The Color TV Channel back in the early '70s.

Among the more popular Mojo programs are the alcohol-soaked travelogue Three Sheets, hosted by Zane Lamprey and I Bet You, a half-hour showcase of high-stakes gambling and outrageous dares.  Mojo also shelled out for the joint off-net rights to NBC’s Heroes, a deal that was to have covered the first six seasons of the series. (Comcast’s G4 also has a stake in Heroes’ cable rights.)

The ad-supported Mojo was repped by Sony Pictures Television.