History, formerly known as
The History Channel, is an
international satellite and
cable TV channel that broadcasts programs regarding
historical events and persons, as well as various
metaphysical,
pseudoscientific, and
paranormal phenomena—-often with observations and explanations by noted
historians, scholars, authors,
esotericists,
astrologers, and Biblical scholars as well as
reenactments and interviews with witnesses.
History
Launched on January 1, 1995, the channel is owned by A&E joint venture (Hearst, Disney, NBC) and operates, in various forms, in the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Portugal,
Israel,
Spain,
Poland,
Italy,
The Netherlands, and
Latin America. The network was also available in
South Asia under a deal between
STAR TV and
AETN International until November 21, 2008. The channel has consistently produced
prime time ratings in the U.S. comparable to or higher than the
A&E Network itself.
In 2007 The History Channel launched "Take a Veteran to School Day," designed to foster relationships between U.S. military veterans and students;
R. Lee Ermey is the spokesman for the initiative.
On February 16, 2008, a new logo was launched on the flagship American network. While keeping their trademark "H", the triangle shape on the left acts as a play button for animation and fly-outs during commercials and shows. The former logo form remains in place for the rest of the world. On March 20, 2008, The History Channel dropped the "The" and the "Channel" parts of its name to become
History.
Programming
Programming covers a wide
array of
periods and topics, while similar topics are often organized into themed weeks or daily marathons. Subjects include military history, medieval history, the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, modern
engineering, historical biographies, metaphysical subjects and disaster scenarios; a number of these documentaries are narrated by
Edward Herrmann. Many programs compare contemporary culture and technology with the past, while some programs have a more esoteric focus such as
conspiracy theory,
religious interpretation,
UFO speculation, or
reality television. The History Channel maintains a corporate initiative called
Save Our History, dedicated to the preservation of history and historical sites and artifacts, similar in spirit but not to be confused with the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Criticism and evaluation
The History Channel received the nickname "The
Hitler Channel" for its extensive coverage of
World War II, though much military-themed programming has now been shifted to its sister network, the
Military History Channel, and the network's programming now covers a diverse range of topics on history and hypothetical future events. The U.S.-based network has also been criticized for devoting most of its coverage to
History of the United States and
Western history. Their sister network,
History International, also seems to have a focus on American history. The network has also received criticism for emphasizing the history of relatively recent times, as opposed to
ancient or
medieval eras.
The History Channel has also been criticized for paying too much attention to non-historical subjects such as
UFOs and for spreading
disinformation about
Nostradamus, as well as for playing a major role in
propagating the
2012 Doomsday prediction myth, usually with scant reference to established scholarship, with the result that it has also been dubbed "The Mystery Channel" or "The Pseudo-History Channel", as well as "The Hysteria Channel."
The network has nevertheless won praise from professional
historians such as Stanley Kutner for its willingness to examine the biases of its own programming—in particular, a series on the
John F. Kennedy assassination. Programs such as
Modern Marvels have been praised for their presentation of detailed information in an entertaining format.
Also, the network's
Ice Road Truckers,
Ax Men, and
Life After People series garnered record ratings in the U.S. despite their non-historical nature.
History is continuing the
apocalyptic trend mentioned above with a highly interpretive new series,
Nostradamus Effect, which premiered on September 9, 2009 and involves a supposed "Third Antichrist" and a "Da Vinci Armageddon."
Despite these criticisms about History's less-than-historical
subject matter, examples of programs that more appropriately suit the channel are
Ancient Discoveries and
Cities of the Underworld.
Other media
DVD
- Dogfight: Season 1 DVD set
Video games
The History Channel maintains a website at www.history.com which among other features maintains several message boards including the History of Christianity, WWII, the Civil War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Current Events.
International
Canada
History is not to be confused with a similar, independently-owned, Canadian service,
History Television. Indeed, the phrase "Not available in Canada" became a de facto'' slogan for the channel in its early years, as a result of its use in promotional ads, at least those aired on A&E (which is available in Canada).
Asia
The History Channel started its operations in
India in late 2003, with
News Corp's
STAR as its sales partner, managed by National Geographic until November 21, 2008.
The History Channel India has been closed down on November 21, 2008 and it has been replaced by
Fox History & Entertainment, which is the first FOX Network channel available in India. A joint venture of AETN and
Astro All Asia Networks is launching
the History Channel in
Singapore,
Hong Kong,
Thailand, the
Philippines,
Malaysia,
Indonesia,
Vietnam and
Brunei in the second and third quarters of 2007, and in
Taiwan and
China by the end of the year. Some other Asian countries such as
Israel,
Japan and
South Korea currently have their own versions of the network. On September 1, 2008 History Channel Asia was officially launch their own History HD Asia channel in
Singapore and
Hong Kong , followed by
Japan,
South Korea and in the
Philippines.
Scandinavia
A Scandinavian version was launched in September 1997, broadcasting for three hours and later four hours, per day on the analogue
Viasat platform. Initially time-sharing with
TV1000 Cinema, it was later moved to the Swedish
TV8 channel and continued broadcasting there until November 2004 when Viasat launched their own history channel,
Viasat History, in the Nordic region and closed down the History Channel. On February 1, 2007 the History Channel returned to Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden when the UK version was launched as a stand-alone channel on the
Canal Digital satellite platform.
The History Channel launched on February 1 2007 on the Canal Digital DTH satellite package for viewers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark & Finland. The channel is being launched by The History Channel UK, A&E’s joint venture with BSkyB. Although it will broadcast in English, the channel will be scheduled separately from the UK version. There are already separate versions of The History Channel in sub-Sahran Africa and Greece. It is planned to also launch
The Biography Channel and
Crime & Investigation Network into the Nordic market.
Latin America
The
Latin American version was launched in
2001. It is owned by
A&E Network and controlled in the region by
HBO Latin America Group. It airs the same programming as the U.S. version.
See also
