1984–2002
A&E launched on February 1, 1984, initially available to 9.3 million cable television homes in the U.S. and Canada.[3] The network is a result of the 1984 merger of Hearst/ABC's Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS) and (pre–General Electric merger) RCA-owned The Entertainment Channel.[4]
It was originally available in two versions, one in an 8-hour version, which was to follow Nickelodeon on RCA Satcom III-R, the other was a full 20-hour version, on another satellite provider, the Westar V.[5] In 1984, the signal split off from Nickelodeon, once A&E picked up its 20-hour signal on RCA Satcom III-R.[6] In response, Nickelodeon launched its own nighttime block Nick at Nite to displace A&E on many signals.[7]
In 1986, the network premiered one of the first classical music videos to be broadcast in the United States and Canada, the Kendall Ross Bean: Chopin Polonaise in A Flat.[8][9][10]
By 1990, original programming accounted for 35 to 40 percent of A&E's content.[11] Biography, a one-hour documentary series that was revived in 1987, was considered to be the network's signature show.[12] In 1994, airings of Biography went from weekly broadcasts to airing five nights a week, which helped boost A&E's ratings to record levels.[11] The nightly series became A&E's top-rated show and one of cable television's most notable successes.[12] Biography received Primetime Emmy Awards in 1999 and 2002.
In 1993, Rockefeller Group’s Radio City Music Hall sold its 12.5% stake of A&E to Capital Cities/ABC, Hearst & NBC, NBC owns 25% stake of A&E, while the others 37.5% stake of the two. In 1994, the channel picked up reruns of Law & Order on an eight-year agreement, which would help bring in additional viewers.[13]
In May 1995, the channel's name officially changed to the A&E Network,[14] to reflect its declining focus on arts and entertainment.[15] The following year, the network had branded itself as simply A&E, using the slogans "Time Well Spent" and in 1998, "Escape the Ordinary." "The word 'arts,' in regard to television, has associations such as 'sometimes elitist,' 'sometimes boring,' 'sometimes overly refined' and 'doesn't translate well to TV, Whitney Goit, executive vice president for sales and marketing, stated. "Even the arts patron often finds arts on TV not as satisfying as it should be ... And the word 'entertainment' is too vague. Therefore, much like ESPN uses its letters rather than what they stand for – Entertainment Sports (Programming) Network – we decided to go to just A&E." Of the network's tagline, Goit said, "Intellectually, 'Time well spent' defines a comparison between those who view a lot of television as a wasteland, and their acknowledgment that there are good things on TV and that they'd like to watch more thought-provoking TV."[16]
A&E and Meridian Broadcasting commissioned Horatio Hornblower (1999), winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards, and the seven subsequent dramas in the series; Dash and Lilly (1999), which received nine Emmy nominations; and The Crossing (2000), which won the Peabody Award. The network created two original weekly drama series, Sidney Lumet's 100 Centre Street[17] and Nero Wolfe,[18] both of which ran from 2001 to 2002.[17]
2013–2019
On December 11, 2013, A&E unveiled a new on-air brand identity built around the slogan "Be Original", emphasizing the network's lineup of original productions and positioning it as a "much lighter, more fun place to come and spend time".[29][30][31] The success of Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel and Storage Wars put A&E fourth in 2013 among cable channels in the key 18-to-49 age demographic.[13]
On February 20, 2014, A&E Networks UK announced a UK version of the channel to launch on Sky channel 168 on March 24, with a Virgin Media launch date planned for next year. In Spain and Portugal, the channel was launched on October 1, 2014, replacing The Biography Channel in that market.[32]
In 2015, A&E picked up the CBS
