The History Channel is a mainstream cable television channel, which presents programming related to 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 TelevisioninCanada. The UK version of the History Channel is operated as a joint venture between A&E and British Sky Broadcasting.
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| Owner | A&E Television Networks |
Programs cover a wide array of periods and topics, while similar topics are often organized into themed weeks or daily marathons. Subjects include military history (especially World War II), 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 or religious interpretation.
Launched in January 1995, the channel is owned by A&E and operates, in various forms, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Italy 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. The channel 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).
The History Channel received the derisory 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. As might be expected of a U.S.-based network, the History Channel devotes most of its coverage to US and Western history. Programs have been criticized for bias especially in treatment of non-Western societies and customs. The network also emphasizes the history of relatively recent times, as opposed to ancientormedieval eras. The History Channel maintains a non-profit fund 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.
Ahigh-definition version of the History Channel was launched at 8pm BST on Thursday October 26 2006, on the Sky HD platform in the United Kingdom. An HD version of the network is expected to launch in the United States in 2007.
A Scandinavian version was launched in September 1997, broadcasting for three hours per day on the Analogue Viasat platform. Initally 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.
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