For: History Television For: The History Channel UK

History, formerly known as The History Channel, is a satellite and cable TV channel, with shows on historical events and persons—often with observations and explanations by noted historians as well as reenactors and interviews with witnesses. Some of the original programming is also shown on History Television in Canada.

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, Italy, The Netherlands and Latin America. The network is also currently available in South Asia under a deal between STAR TV and AETN International. Interestingly, 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

main: List of programs broadcast by History (TV channel) 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, and historical biographies. 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. The U.S.-based network has also been criticized for devoting most of its coverage to US and Western history. Their sister network, History International, does focus primarily on non-US history however. The network has also received criticism for emphasizing the history of relatively recent times, as opposed to ancient or medieval eras.