"History Channel? No, Thank you!" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

How Often Do You Watch the History Channel?

28% said "not any more"
24% said "rarely"
21% said "don't have access to that channel"

Last time I looked, it had started mistaking Hollywood lives for History …. shame, because when I first saw it, it was quite good.

I thought it was the Ancient Aliens Channel now?

Also, I stopped watching TLC several years ago, when they stopped being The Learning Channel and did away with the documentaries.

Dan

Sadly, it has gone to hell in a basket. I never give it a thought anymore.

I do not watch it. I can't understand how its contents is history.

Well… its name is justified because it seems that as far as TMPers (and no doubt other serious history buffs) are concerned… it's history!

You mean the Picker-Pawn Channel right?

Do they even have any historical programming anymore?

I can't recall seeing ANY of late, which is a terrible shame, given all the good stuff out there that could be shown.

Maybe all the historical documentaries that the channel had when it began offended too many people who had issues. The channel probably got tired of all the sensitive people and their meltdowns.

The same thing will eventually happen to AHC (American Heroes Channel) and other channels that try to teach the public a little history and try to teach people not be afraid to discuss history.

All those channels will eventually give in to the constant water drip torture.

Dan

I never find anything history on it. They need to rename it, if no one wants to watch history content.

The pickers, pawn shop, and ancient aliens all involve history -- buying and selling historical artifacts or discussing ancient texts and visiting ancient sites.

While I enjoy all three shows for what they present, none of them come close to providing the historical depth or richness of the documentaries and documentary series that the History Channel used to show.

Maybe there is other programming at times when I'm not watching, like during the day.

Its really quite simple if you know the history.
In the beginning, there was the Arts and Entertainment channel. I remember long ago watching so much WW2 stuff on it that I called it the "All Hitler, all the time" channel.

((Google History Channel to see who owns it. It's A&E Networks. Which is a joint venture of Hearst, Disney etc.
Note that this is a stable of channels. These stables explain why when Viacom and DirecTV or Comcast get hard nosed over contract negotiations, you can lose a lot of channels. ))

Then, people in the Arts began to wonder what all this Hitler stuff was interfering with Mozart and the Bauhaus.
So Arts and Entertainment begat the History Channel. And there was much rejoicing. All those already ancient shows found a new home.

Along came Ice Road Truckers, Pawn Stars and so on. They needed a place to "air". So the History Channel begat the Military Channel.
Rinse. Repeat.
Military Channel begat the Military History Channel, and Military Channel renamed itself the American Heroes Channel.

If you are missing Mail Call, with R Lee Ermy, check out Military History, with the same old same old 20 year old shows.

The stable concept also explains why WWE Smackdown used to be on SyFy. WWE has always been tight with NBC, and SyFy is in the NBC Universal stable.
A channel is nothing but a place to park programming, and the name of the channel can be irrelevant.

Trust me. I know these things. I sell Comcast Xfinity.

And Dan. Stop seeing conspiracies to avoid offending snowflakes everywhere.
As Deep Throat said to Clemenza in Willy Wonka Meets Jaws, "Follow the money."

The old stuff you miss is still out there, if you know where to find it. Sometimes a Channel has a contract expire to show something, and it's too much money, or bother to renew it. Or you may have to break down and buy an old VHS cassette. Assuming your player is still working.

As a prime example, look at the Netflix Marvel contract which is expiring. You don't have much time left to watch Black Panther for free on Netflix!
Money!
Even Mail Call has to be paid for, even if it's not an Avengers IV.

It's not personal. It's business.

John: "The old stuff you miss is still out there, if you know where to find it"

Yes because the major networks carry such highly "competitive" stuff … though, ironically, it tends to be nearly identical to each other's style, subject matter and, most importantly, same exact POV. :)

It's almost as if all the major restaurants suddenly started carrying the exact same menus, identical ingredients and cooking styles, and using the exact same marketing gimmicks … and all of it somehow by accident.

It would boggle the mind, wouldn't it.

Dan

Some shows get old. How many times do you need to watch the same "Best Tanks of World War 2"?
It's been on three of the channels I traced the history of.
There's no real PROFITABLE interest in new programming. As I keep pointing out regarding movies, we are not a large audience.