Launched on January 1, 1995, the channel is owned by A&E joint venture (Hearst, Disney, NBC)[1] and operates, in various forms, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Israel, Spain, Poland, Italy, The Netherlands, and Latin America. The network was also available in South Asia under a deal between STAR TV and AETN International until November 21, 2008. The channel has consistently produced prime time ratings in the U.S. comparable to or higher than the A&E Network itself.[citation needed]
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.[2]The History Channel received the nickname "The Hitler Channel"[3] 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 and hypothetical future events. The U.S.-based network has also been criticized for devoting most of its coverage to historical topics concerning the Western world and the United States in particular.[4] Their sister network, History International, also seems to have a focus on American history. The network has also received criticism for emphasizing the history of relatively recent times, as opposed to ancient or medieval eras.[citation needed]
The History Channel has also been criticized for paying too much attention to non-historical subjects...