History (known as Sky History in the UK and Ireland) is a European documentary

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

which broadcasts programs related to reality programming, historical events and persons. It is a joint venture between A&E Networks UK and

Sky Group Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe' ...

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. Programming across the channels is primarily in English and where available

subtitled Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

or dubbed into regional languages. The channel is available through a number of satellite, cable, terrestrial and

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

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 acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and t ...

, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

required

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

to sell A&E's European channels, including History. History has separate versions for Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal: *History Germany: Operated by A&E Networks Germany. *History Italy: Formerly a joint venture of A&E Networks and Fox International Channels Italy, it became a sole venture of A&E Networks in 2012. *History Netherlands, airing in the Netherlands and Flanders. Operated by A&E Networks Benelux. *Canal Historia (also known as História): The History Channel Iberia joint venture of A&E Networks and

AMC Networks International Southern Europe AMC Networks International Southern Europe (formerly AMC Networks International Iberia, Chello Multicanal and Multicanal) is a Madrid, Spain-based television company, owned by AMC Networks International. In April 2010, it closed the purchase of ...

. *History Poland - launched on April 9, 2008.

Sky History (UK and Ireland)

History Channel UK began on 11 November 1995 as a weekday three-hour block (4 to 7 pm), consisting of ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

'' (restyled for a British audience), ''History Alive'' and ''Our Century''. The channel was A&E's first international venture.

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

2 began broadcasting all day in 1997, requiring other networks to move to another channel. The History Channel shared

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

24 with Sky Soap and the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

. The launch of Sky Digital allowed the channel to significantly increase its broadcast hours. On 26 October 2006, History Channel HD launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The HD version was launching across Europe from October 2007, beginning in the Nordic region on 13 December 2007, offering a schedule separate from the standard-definition version. In January 2008, History Channel HD launched in the Netherlands. In November 2008 the History Channel was re-branded as History, and the high-definition channel became History HD. 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"). On 22 September 2011, AETN UK was re-branded A&E Networks UK. The channel launched on British Telecom on 15 August 2013, and on TalkTalk on 28 August 2014. Sky History Logo 2020

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 Sky Documentaries is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 May 2020. Sky Documentaries broadcasts imported programming from US networks HBO and Showtime, alongside new origina ...

and

Sky Nature Sky Nature is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 May 2020. Sky Nature broadcasts original Sky content, content from Canadian channel Love Nature, and Sky's collection of Da ...

. The networks will retain strong ties with AETN, and the network's logos will retain the network's insignia, being co-marketed with Sky. The network also took a new channel position formerly held by E!.

History Scandinavia

The History Channel began in Scandinavia in September 1997, broadcasting for three hours daily on the analogue

Viasat Viasat may refer to: *Viasat (American company) (founded 1986) *Viasat (Nordic television service) (founded 1991) * Danish 1st Division, officially Viasat Divisionen, second-highest football league in Denmark * Viasat Cup, 2006 Danish football tour ...

platform. Initially time-sharing with TV1000 Cinema, it was later moved to the Swedish TV8 channel until November 2004 (when Viasat launched Viasat History).

History Netherlands and Flanders

History Channel launched in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

on 1 May 2007. RTL Nederland (now Ad Alliance) became responsible for advertising sales on 1 January 2016. 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.

History Germany

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. Since 1 June 2017 the channel is fully owned by A&E Networks Germany. History is available on the

Kabel Deutschland Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH is the largest cable television operator in Germany. Kabel Deutschland was subject to a hostile takeover bid by the British Vodafone Group in September 2013; the deal was approved in December 2013 and finalised on ...

Kabel BW Liberty Global plc is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with ...

- Unitymedia, Primacom and KabelKiosk cable networks in all German states, and is also available on cable in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Although the channel was available on satellite on

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

, 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 Iberia (Spain and Portugal)

Since 1996, History has been distributed under the name Canal de Historia—and, more recently, História—in Spain and Portugal by

in a joint venture with A&E Networks (owner of

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

). The channel has Spanish and Portuguese feeds with dubbed English programs and locally produced programming. História is available in Spain on

Movistar+ Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...

, cable networks (

Telecable Telecable is a cable company that operates in Asturias (northern Spain) offering triple play services (telephone, Internet and television) as well as mobile phone services as an MVNO since 2007. The company started out as Telecable de Oviedo, Tel ...

, R,

Euskaltel Euskaltel, S.A. is a Spanish telecommunications company based in Derio, Basque Country. It was formed in 1995 in a joint effort by the Basque Government and several Basque saving banks. Its name is literally translated in English as "Basque-Tel" ...

), IPTV providers (

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

Orange TV OTV ( ar, أو تي في, launched in 2007) is a publicly traded television station in Lebanon, connected to the Free Patriotic Movement political party (التيار اللوطني الحر). It is nicknamed 'Orange TV' due to its orange logo ...

) and streaming media ( TotalChannel). Historia HD became available in Spain on 3 November 2015. In Portugal, História is available through cable providers ( NOS,

Cabovisão NOWO (“novo”) is a Portuguese telecommunications company. It is one of the four triple play operators in Portugal. Apax France and Fortino Capital have been NOWO's shareholders since September 2015. In Portugal, these groups also own the ...

) and IPTV ( MEO,

Spanish locally produced programming

* ''Arqueólogo Por Un Día'' (2015), where a local celebrity spends a day working with archaeologists on an

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

* ''La Última Cena'' (2014–2015)

Portuguese local-history programming

* ''Combatentes do Ultramar'' (2003), dedicated to the

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

* ''A Última Ceia'' (2014–2015)

References

European Television Stream Online

External links