AHC: Save the History Channel

Color-Copycat

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to prevent the decline of the History Channel in the middle years of the last decade. Keep decent documentaries as the mainstay of programming, as opposed to reality television, Nostradamus nonsense, and ancient aliens.

For added challenge, prevent the even earlier decay to the "Hitler Channel" (excessive airing of WWII documentaries)
 
The Kiat

The Kiat

Change the A&E execs, but even then the new ones will still have to answer to the shareholders. Problem with specialized channels is that they are a niche thing. Much more money can be made by dumbing it way down. At least they don't have any alternate history on the Channel.
 

Shaby

Storm the place with Navy SEALs, eject the old management and bring some new people, actually interested in history and not profit. Two years later, faced with a choice of having the station fail or introduce a reality show camouflaged as documentary/docudrama, choose latter. End up in the same place. Few years later, doors of the station knocked down by Navy SEALs...
 

Thespitron 6000

Never launch the channel in the first place. The First Law of Programming Thermodynamics states that all channels will start out highly distinct and ordered, but over time will, through television entropy, become disordered and indistinguishable from one another, all carrying the same low-grade pap.
 
33k7

33k7

Continue interesting documentaries like talk about Mexican and Canadian history European history would be nice to besides Britain.

Documentary series about the Spanish Empire from Christopher Columbus to its collapse.

they could've done a series of documentarys about Chinese history.

They needed to talk about different things they kind beat the dead horse that was the Nazis and World War II to death.
 
LHB

LHB

Set up the History Channel and A&E as non-profit. That way they don't have the same pressure to chase ratings which definitely didn't help with the whole, "Slide into Hitler/Nostradamus/lumberjacks" mess. TLC was actually about more informative stuff than Honey Boo Boo up until it stopped being a non-profit network.
 

Julia Augusta

33k7 said:
Continue interesting documentaries like talk about Mexican and Canadian history European history would be nice to besides Britain.

Documentary series about the Spanish Empire from Christopher Columbus to its collapse.

they could've done a series of documentarys about Chinese history.

They needed to talk about different things they kind beat the dead horse that was the Nazis and World War II to death.
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Yeah honestly, while WWII is interesting, it will get boring to the viewer as long as it the only thing they talk about.

I think that had they provided more interseting and varied content, it would have stayed a fairly good channel with good ratings. But then they milked WWII too much and it went down the drain.
 

BigWillyG

Have the first Discovery Channel Alaska fishing documentary not be so successful. That should allow you to avoid the rise of the "dangerous job" reality shows on Discovery Channel and History Channel copying that.
 

jkarr

i think it was the whole world war 2 programmes that killed it...not the subject matter but the nonstop usage of it....i remember when i actually used to watch the channel years back it was just world war 2, with mabye some other subjects thrown in now and again between rereuns or new eps....thats what started the downfull imo
 

Thoresby

Personally I think it was the Hitler Channel stuff that killed it. Once it moved into that niche there was no real hope. It did have a future, though not a terribly profitable one, as a broad, all of history channel.
 

Jcoggins

step one: Increase pawn stars to one hour. It actually has a modicum of historical value, and hour long episodes can edge out the dangerous jobs shows
Step two: End ancient aliens(respectfully so as to not alienate the fanbase) and put wierd hair guy on a new show about the history of the depiction of aliens. include sane people to temper him
Step three: Produce more hatfield and McCoy type miniseries, such as one on the life of TR.
step four: Produce more documentaries like the story of america
step five: use success of above to justify ordering more history based TV
 
Sevarics

Sevarics

Mike Stearns said:
That might be a good thing though. It would require them to talk about OTL history in order for the viewer to understand the POD.
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Except it will turn into Spike TV's attempt at Alternate History where the Nazis were able to take over the US following Hitler winning at D-Day.
 

ANARCHY_4_ALL

I've actually had an idea to put an alt history show on the history channel for a while. I would use the same premise Mike Stearns spoke of. Depicting OTL history and discussion before introducing the ATL history. Which would best be employed doing a kind of Hatfield and McCoy narrative film style reenactment. But if History Channel did more shows like this of all sorts of different historical figures it could still save it. Typical discussion and educational interviews followed by well shot and well acted film style reenactments. Think also of Band of Brothers and The Pacific they did this well too but on a different network.
 

Whanztastic

ANARCHY_4_ALL said:
I've actually had an idea to put an alt history show on the history channel for a while. I would use the same premise Mike Stearns spoke of. Depicting OTL history and discussion before introducing the ATL history. Which would best be employed doing a kind of Hatfield and McCoy narrative film style reenactment. But if History Channel did more shows like this of all sorts of different historical figures it could still save it. Typical discussion and educational interviews followed by well shot and well acted film style reenactments. Think also of Band of Brothers and The Pacific they did this well too but on a different network.
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The best option going down this road is AMC quality dramas and so forth but all in historical contexts, or cutting into premium cable-style miniseries such as John Adams.

Maybe also landing some more political things like The West Wing?

Problem is all these high quality programming requires capital. The reason modern cable TV has gone reality show crazy are the low productions costs.
 

zoomar

hugh lupus said:
teach history at school ...and teach it properly:mad:
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Pretty much.

But it would also be helpful if the entire Discovery system of channels (including History) had been developed either as (1) as non-profit semi-educational corporations, dependent at least somewhat on public funding or (2) as for-profit high-brow corporations that require premium subscriptions to avoid the lure of the the lowest common denominator, such as HBO.

Even when the History Channel was "Good" (ie: was not filled with shows about the sex lives of ghost-hunting Nazi witch doctors and Ancient Maya spacemen), its shows were too sensationalist, made too much use of silly dramatizationed reenactments, and featured bad scholarship amed to highlight the most "exciting" odd-ball interpretations. One only needs to compare the excellent Ken Burns specials on PBS with anything on the History Channel has produced to see the difference.
 

Willmatron

Banned
Last I saw NatGeo is a lot better channel than History right now. I would have more shows done on battles and make Peter Weller host a show or two. I don't how his degree accounts academically but its better than the ancient alien guy.

When I first started watching the channel they had a show that showed how people learned to fight using different early weapons and fighting styles. How about a Survivor style show where people are supposed to live within the means of certain historical periods.

An alternate history show where they explore different PODs. Like D-Day failure equals Soviet Europe.
 

Mike Stearns

Willmatron said:
How about a Survivor style show where people are supposed to live within the means of certain historical periods.
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That could be cool, or about about a reality show where a group of people try to build a medieval castle using only period correct tools and methods. Then do a follow-up series where they have to live in it for a year.

A modified version of Spike's Deadliest Warrior could work. Lose the fake science and the macho bullcrap and make it like a tournament that showcases different fighting styles from various times and locations from around the world.
 
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Kevin Mowery

LHB said:
Set up the History Channel and A&E as non-profit. That way they don't have the same pressure to chase ratings which definitely didn't help with the whole, "Slide into Hitler/Nostradamus/lumberjacks" mess. TLC was actually about more informative stuff than Honey Boo Boo up until it stopped being a non-profit network.
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Find a POD that will result in politicians of both parties being in support of spending money on educational television. Ideally, to the point that there's no need for PBS-style pledge drives (because it's hard enough to get people to donate to one channel, let alone half a dozen or more).
 
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