| History | |
| Sister Channels: | List of Sky UK channels |
| Language: | Dutch English French German Italian Portuguese Russian Spanish |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV |
| Owner: | A+E Networks UK (A&E Networks/Sky Group) |
| Country: |
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| Area: | Balkans Benelux Central Europe & Eastern Europe CIS France Iberian Peninsula Iceland Ireland Israel Scandinavia South Africa |
| Headquarters: |
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| Former Names: | The History Channel (1995–2008) History (2000–2020, UK & Ireland) |
| Timeshift Service: | History +1 (as Sky History +1 in the UK) |
| Website: | |
| Terr Serv 1: | Sky (United Kingdom) |
| Terr Chan 1: | Channel 123 (Sky History HD) Channel 223 (Sky History +1) Channel 825 (Sky History) |
| Terr Serv 2: | DStv (Sub-Saharan Africa) |
| Terr Chan 2: | Channel 186 (HD) |
| Terr Serv 3: | Zuku TV (Kenya) |
| Terr Chan 3: | Channel 412 |
| Terr Serv 4: | AzamTV (Africa) |
| Terr Chan 4: | Channel 191 |
History (known as Sky History in the UK and Ireland) is a European documentary television channel which broadcasts programs related to historical events and persons. There are also reality television, ufology and paranormal programs.
It is a joint venture between A&E Networks UK and Sky Group with localized channels across Europe. TVT Media is responsible for signal distribution in Europe, with local subsidiaries of A&E Networks as distribution representatives on the continent.[1] [2]
Programming across the channels is primarily in English and where available subtitled or dubbed into regional languages. The channel is available through a number of satellite, cable, terrestrial and IPTV distributors across Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. In some countries, advertisements and announcements between programs are localized.
On 6 November 2018, in the wake of the Disney-Fox merger, the European Commission required The Walt Disney Company to sell A&E's European channels, including History.[3]
History has separate versions for Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal:
The History Channel UK launched on 1 November 1995 on the Sky Multichannels service, broadcasting on weekdays from 4:00pm-7:00pm, timesharing with Sky Travel, Sky Soap and the Sci-Fi Channel. The channel's schedule consisted of three different shows - Biography (restyled for a British audience), History Alive and Our Century. It operated as a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks and British Sky Broadcasting, and was A&E's first international venture.[4] The channel was also made available on cable providers.
In Late-1997, Sky Sports 2, which broadcast on the transponder during weekends, extended its broadcast hours to include the entire day. Sky Travel also extended hours, leading to the remainder of the networks that broadcast on the transponder, including The History Channel, to move to transponder 24.[5] On 1 November 1997, the channel was removed from Telewest's analogue cable service.[6]
The launch of Sky Digital in October 1998 allowed the channel to significantly increase its broadcast hours.
In May 2002, Telewest and The History Channel (UK) Limited failed to reach an agreement to broadcast the network, with Telewest announcing that they would remove the channel from their Active Digital cable service at the end of the month.[7] On 1 June, the two companies successfully renegotiated and The History Channel was restored.[8]
On 26 October 2006, History Channel HD launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel broadcasts content in 1080p HD, and operates on a separate schedule from the SD feed.
In November 2008 the History Channel was re-branded as History,[9]
The company behind the channel was known as The History Channel (UK) Limited until July 2009, when it was renamed AETN UK (a short form of "A&E Television Networks").[10]
In 2010, History HD became a simulcast service.
On 22 September 2011, AETN UK was re-branded A&E Networks UK.[11]
The channel launched on BT on 15 August 2013, and on TalkTalk on 28 August 2014.
On 27 May 2020, History, History +1 and History 2 were renamed Sky History, Sky History +1, and Sky History 2 respectively, alongside the launch of Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature.[12] The networks retained their strong ties with AETN, and the network's logos kept the network's insignia, being co-marketed with Sky.[13] [14] The network also took a new channel position formerly held by E!.[15]
The HD version was launching across Europe from October 2007,[16] beginning in the Nordic region on 13 December 2007, offering a schedule separate from the standard-definition version.[17] In January 2008, History Channel HD launched in the Netherlands.[18]
Like with the UK channel, the International networks were rebranded in November 2008.[19] and the high-definition channel became History HD.
Since 1998,[20] History has been distributed under the name Canal Historia—and, more recently, Historia—in Spain and Portugal by AMC Networks International Southern Europe in a joint venture with A&E Networks (owner of History), called The History Channel Iberia.[21] The channel has Spanish and Portuguese feeds with dubbed English programs and locally produced programming. On 14 June 2021 AMC Networks acquires full ownership of its Spanish channels, including Canal Historia.[22]
Canal Historia is available in Spain on Movistar+, cable networks (Telecable, R, Euskaltel), IPTV providers (Vodafone, Orange TV) and streaming media (TotalChannel).[23] Historia HD became available in Spain on 3 November 2015.[24] In Portugal, História is available through cable providers (NOS, Cabovisão) and IPTV (MEO, Vodafone).[25]
The History Channel began in Scandinavia in September 1997, broadcasting for three hours daily on the analogue Viasat platform. Initially time-sharing with TV1000 Cinema, it was later moved to the Swedish TV8 channel until November 2004 (when Viasat launched Viasat History).
In German-speaking countries, History is operated by History Channel Germany, which was a joint venture of A&E Networks and NBC Universal Global Networks Germany. The channel began as the History Channel on 15 November 2004, and changed its name to History on 11 January 2009.[26] Since 1 June 2017 the channel is fully owned by A&E Networks Germany.[27]
History is available on the Kabel Deutschland, Kabel BW-Unitymedia, Primacom and KabelKiosk cable networks in all German states, and is also available on cable in Austria and Switzerland. Although the channel was available on satellite on Arena, it was not available on Premiere until the latter was renamed Sky on 4 July 2009. At that time, History HD (a high-definition version of the channel) was introduced. The channel hosts the annual History Award, which has been given since 2005.
History Channel launched in the Netherlands and Flanders on 1 May 2007.[28] [29]
RTL Nederland (now Ad Alliance) became responsible for advertising sales on 1 January 2016.[30] On 15 January 2021 Belgian provider Telenet moved the channel from their premium packages to the basic subscription. One day later, their subsidiary SBS Belgium announced they would handle Belgian advertising sales for the channel starting 1 February 2021.[31]