History (formerly The History Channel from 1995 to 2008; stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainment Content division of the Walt Disney Company.

 

The network was originally focused on history-based documentaries. During the late 2000s, History drifted into reality television programming. In addition to this change in format, the network has been criticized by many scientists, historians, and skeptics for broadcasting pseudo-documentaries and unsubstantiated, sensational investigative programming.

 

As of February 2015, around 96,149,000 American households (82.6% of households with television) receive the network's flagship channel, History. International localized versions of History are available, in various forms, in India, Canada, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.