Sky History (UK and Ireland)
The History Channel UK launched on 1 November 1995 on the Sky Multichannels service, broadcasting on weekdays from 4:00pm-8:00pm, timesharing on the Astra satellite with Sky Travel, Sky Soap and the Sci-Fi Channel. The channel's schedule consisted of three different shows - Biography (restyled for a British audience), History Alive and Our Century. It operated as a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks and British Sky Broadcasting, and was A&E's first international venture.[4] The channel was also made available on cable providers.
In late-1997, Sky Sports 2, which had broadcast on the transponder at the weekend, extended its broadcast hours to include the entire day. Sky Travel also extended hours, leading to the remainder of the networks that broadcast on the transponder, including The History Channel, to move to transponder 24.[5] On 1 November 1997, the channel was removed from Telewest's analogue cable service.[6]
The launch of Sky Digital in October 1998 allowed the channel to significantly increase its broadcast hours.
In May 2002, Telewest and The History Channel (UK) Limited failed to reach an agreement to broadcast the network, with Telewest announcing that they would remove the channel from their Active Digital cable service at the end of the month.[7] On 1 June, the two companies successfully renegotiated and The History Channel was restored.[8]
On 26 October 2006, History Channel HD launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel broadcasts content in 1080p HD, and operates on a separate schedule from the SD feed.
In November 2008 the History Channel was re-branded History,[9]
The company behind the channel was known as The History Channel (UK) Limited until July 2009, when it was renamed AETN UK (a short form of "A&E Television Networks").[10]
In 2010, History HD became a simulcast service.
On 22 September 2011, AETN UK was re-branded A&E Networks UK.[11]
The channel launched on BT on 15 August 2013, and on TalkTalk on 28 August 2014.
On 27 May 2020, History, History +1 and History 2 were renamed Sky History, Sky History +1, and Sky History 2 respectively, alongside the launch of Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature.[12] The networks retained their strong ties with AETN, and the network's logos kept the network's insignia, being co-marketed with Sky.[13][14] The network also took a new channel position, taking over one previously used by E!.[15]
On 12 September 2024 AETN UK was renamed Hearst Networks UK.
