History Channel

The History Channel is a cable television channel, which primarily presents programs relating to historical events and persons, often with observations and explanations by noted historians as well as re-enactors and interviews with witnesses. Launched in January 1995, the Channel is owned by A&E joint venture (Hearst, Disney, NBC) and Sky News Corporation. It 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 USA compared to or higher than the A&E Network itself. 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, 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 as conspiracy theory, religious interpretation, UFO speculation or Reality Television.

The History Channel maintains a non-profit fund called Save Our History, dedicated to the preservation of history and historical sites and artifacts. The channel received the nickname, ‘The Hitler Channel’ for its extensive coverage of the World War II, though much military-themed programs have now been shifted to its sister network Military History Channel. A US based network, the Channel has been criticized for devoting more time to US and Western history. However, the network has won praise from professional historians such as Stanley Kutner for its willingness to examine the biases of its own programs – in particular, a series of the John F Kennedy assassination. Programs such as Modern Marvels have been praised for their presentation of detailed information in an entertaining format.
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