is about the american channel . for the canadian equivalent of this channel see history canada . for the european equivalent of this channel see history european tv channel . for the australian equivalent of this channel see history australian tv channel . for the india equivalent of this channel see history india . for other uses see history disambiguation . history launched january 1 1995 1995 01 01 owned by history channels a & e networks hearst corporation 50 % disney abc television group the walt disney company 50 % picture format 1080i hdtv downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv feed slogan made every day country united states broadcast area national headquarters new york city new york united states formerly called the history channel 1995 2008 sister channel s a & e fyi military history history en espa ol lifetime crime & investigation network website history.com availability satellite directv 269 dish network 120 c band amc 18 channel 258 h2h 4dtv verizon fios 628 128 sd iptv at & t u verse 1256 256 sd streaming media sling tv internet protocol television history originally the history channel from 1995 to 2008 is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by a & e networks a joint venture between the hearst corporation and the disney abc television group division of the walt disney company . the channel originally broadcast documentary programs and historical fiction series . it has mostly broadcast various reality television series such as pawn stars ax men and other non history how related content . the network is criticized by many scientists historians and skeptics for broadcasting pseudo documentaries unsubstantiated and sensational investigative programming such as ancient aliens ufo hunters brad meltzer s decoded and the nostradamus effect . as of february 2015 approximately 96 149 000 american households 82.6 % of households with television receive history . 1 international localized versions of history are available in various forms in india canada europe australia middle east africa and latin america . the first european version was launched in scandinavia in 1997 by viasat which now operates their own channel viasat history . contents 1 history 2 programming 3 criticism and evaluation 4 other media 4.1 dvd 4.2 video serials 5 international 5.1 north america 5.1.1 canada 5.2 europe 5.2.1 uk and ireland 5.2.2 germany 5.2.3 spain and portugal 5.2.4 benelux 5.2.5 poland 5.2.6 scandinavia 5.3 asia 5.4 latin america 5.5 africa 5.5.1 south africa 6 references 7 external links history edit the history channel s original logo used from january 1 1995 to february 16 2008 . history was launched on january 1 1995 as the history channel 2 its original format focused entirely on historical series and specials . history s logo used from february 16 2008 to june 1 2015 ; the new logo does not have the triangle on the side of the h. on february 16 2008 a new logo was launched on the u.s. network as part of a rebranding effort . while the trademark h was kept the triangle shape on the left acts as a play button for animation and flyouts during commercials and shows . on march 20 2008 as part of that same rebranding effort the history channel dropped the and channel from its name to become simply history . 3 on june 1 2015 the history logo was slightly updated completely removing the triangle shape on the left . programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by history tv channel history hd logo 2008 2015 programming on history has covered a wide range of historical periods and topics while similar themed topics are often organized into themed weeks or daily marathons . subjects include warfare inventions aviation mechanical and civil engineering technology mythical creatures monsters ufo conspiracy theories aliens religious beliefs disaster scenarios apocalyptic after man scenarios doomsday and 2012 superstitions . programming also includes mainstream reality television style shows involving truck drivers alligator hunters pawn stores antique and collectible pickers car restorers photography and others . occasionally some programs compare contemporary culture and technology with that of the past . 4 on march 3 2013 history channel premiered its first original series vikings . 5 criticism and evaluation edit during the 1990s history was jokingly referred to as the hitler channel 6 for its extensive coverage of world war ii . much of its military themed programming has been shifted to its sister network military history . the network has also been criticized for having a bias towards us history . another former sister network history international more extensively covered history outside the us until in 2011 it was rebranded as history 2 and started broadcasting more material that had to do with us history . 7 the network was also criticized by stanley kutner for airing the series the men who killed kennedy in 2003 . kutner was one of three historians commissioned to review the documentary which the channel disavowed and never aired again . 8 programs such as modern marvels have been praised for their presentation of detailed information in an entertaining format . 9 some of the network s series including ice road truckers ax men and pawn stars garnered ratings in the u.s. while receiving criticism over the series non historical nature . forbes.com contributor brad lockwood criticized the history channel s addition of programs devoted to monsters aliens and conspiracies and wrote that ratings trends have influenced the network to focus on entertainment rather than actual historical programming . 10 unreliable source u.s. senator chuck grassley is a critic of the channel and its lack of historical or educational programming showing particular disdain for ax men and pawn stars . 11 in his book 2012 it s not the end of the world peter lemesurier describes the channel s nostradamus series in which he was invited to participate as largely fiction and lurid nonsense . 12 he also lists numerous suggestions made in its films on the alleged mayan end of the world and the rare galactic alignment that was supposed by john major jenkins to accompany it in 2012 13 while jenkins himself has described decoding the past as 45 minutes of unabashed doomsday hype and the worst kind of inane sensationalism . 14 in december 2011 politifact gave the history channel s claim that the united states congress stayed open on christmas day for most of its first 67 years of existence a pants on fire rating the lowest of its ratings noting that its own research showed that both the senate and the house had only convened once in those 67 years on a christmas day and adding that since there s a 1 7 chance of christmas falling on a sunday when congress did not meet in order to attend church the claim that they would have convened almost every christmas is ridiculous . 15 the claim had first been broadcast on the history channel program christmas unwrapped the history of christmas before being subsequently picked up by the american civil liberties union s website on the origins of christmas and by the comedy central series the daily show . 15 daily show host jon stewart responded the next day by stating it was their fault for trusting the history channel and satirized a clip from the history channel about ufos and nazis by stating the next thing you know we ll all find out the nazis did not employ alien technology in their quest for world domination . 16 17 the history channel was also singled out for ridicule by smithsonian magazine . the article took issue with the show ancient aliens for postulating the idea that aliens caused the extinction of non avian dinosaurs . 18 the online magazine cracked also lampooned the channel for its strange definition of history . cracked singled out programs on ufo hunters and ancient aliens as being the very definition of non history by presenting pseudoscience and pseudohistory 19 other media edit dvd edit the unknown hitler dvd collection 20 including hitler and the occult dogfight season 1 dvd set the great depression dvd collection the making of trump 2015 dvd 21 video serials edit legend of the superstition mountains 6 episodes in 2015 the history channel great battles of rome the history channel civil war a nation divided the history channel shootout the game the history channel dogfights the game the history channel battle for the pacific history civil war secret missions the history channel lost worlds the history channel battle of britain 1940 the history channel crusades quest for power the history channel alamo fight for independence the history channel civil war great battles the history channel digging for truth the history channel great battles medieval the history channel civil war the battle of bull run take command 1861 the history channel american civil war take command 2nd manassas international edit north america edit history channel headquarters in new york 2011 canada edit main article history canada the history channel as it was then known was not initially related to a similar canadian service history television which launched in 1997 . during the canadian channel s first several years of operation despite sharing a similar programming focus the channels would rarely if ever share programming . indeed the phrase not available in canada became a de facto slogan for the u.s. channel in its early years as a result of its use in promotional ads on american channels that were imported to canadian pay television providers particularly a & e. 22 as late as the late 2000s flagship history u.s. series were slow to reach canadian viewers if they aired in that country at all ; ice road truckers debuted in 2007 but did not join the history television schedule until early 2009 . however the relationship between the two has improved since then . on may 30 2012 history television s current owner shaw media announced that it would rebrand the channel as a canadian version of history in the fall of 2012 through a licensing agreement with a e networks . 23 history television relaunched as history on august 12 2012 ; shortly thereafter another shaw owned specialty channel was relaunched as a canadian version of h2 . on october 21 2014 corus entertainment reached an agreement to acquire canadian french language rights to history programming for its own channel historia . on march 9 2015 the network was re launched under history s logo and branding although the network still carries the historia name . 24 historia was previously owned as a joint venture between shaw and astral media merged with bell media in 2013 which made it a sister to history ; corus purchased the network in 2013 . 25 on april 1 2016 corus entertainment acquired shaw media and as a result now co owns both history canada and the canadian english language rights to the history library of original programming with historia and the canadian french language rights to the history library of original programming . europe edit main article history european tv channel uk and ireland edit the british version launched in november 1995 and arrived in ireland on november 1 1999 . it is a joint venture between a e networks and british sky broadcasting . germany edit the german version launched on november 14 2004 and is operated by the history channel germany gmbh & co. kg a joint venture between a e networks and nbc universal global networks germany . spain and portugal edit the history channel is available in spain and portugal though cable satellite and iptv platforms as well as streaming media . the history channel iberia is a joint venture between a e networks and amc networks international iberia . benelux edit the dutch version has launched on may 1 2007 . this version is distributed by chello benelux a subdivision of chellomedia . 26 in january 2008