TLC is an American multinational
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
and
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
television network
A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...
owned by the
Networks division of
Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by
Discovery, Inc. earlier in the decade, the network began to pivot towards
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
programming—predominantly focusing on programming involving
lifestyles and personal stories—to the point that the previous name with "The Learning Channel" spelled out was
phased out in favor of its
initialism
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...
.
, with its programming primarily dedicated to the nine-series ''
90 Day Fiancé'' universe, comprising 31% of the shows carried by the channel, TLC is available to approximately 71,000,000 pay television households in the United States—down from its 2011 peak of 100,000,000 households.
History
1972–1980: Early history as the Appalachian Educational Satellite Project
TLC's history traces to the 1972 formation of the Appalachian Educational Satellite Project (AESP), a
distance education project formed by the
Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...
(ARC), in participation with the Education Satellite Communication Demonstration (ESCD), a partnership with the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a Cabinet of the United States, cabinet-level United States federal executive departments, executive branch department of the federal government of the United States, US federal ...
and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
intended to transmit instructional, career and health programming via satellite to provide televised educational material to public schools and universities in the
Appalachian region. ARC submitted a proposal to participate in the ESCD and use the
ATS-6 communications satellite (launched into orbit in 1974) to disseminate "career education" programming to teachers at no cost; the consortium set up 15
earth station receiver sites across eight states in conjunction with local education service agencies.
The ATS-6 temporarily ceased service to the Appalachian region after being re-orbited to India in September 1975; by the time the satellite reoriented to the United States the following year, the number of earth receivers used to transmit AESP content increased to 45 sites in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
(some of which also acted as relays to local television stations in the region). All programming offered through the project was accepted for academic credit at 12 universities in the region.
In October 1978, NASA disclosed the ATS-6 would suspend transmissions for 12 months due to transmission problems with the satellite. As a result, ARC decided to purchase transponder time on the commercial
Satcom I communications satellite, in order to continue its distance education offerings.
1980–1998: From ACSN to The Learning Channel, "A place for learning minds"
The
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN) was incorporated in April 1980, maintaining a
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
appointed by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The ACSN television service launched in October 1980 as ACSN – The Learning Channel; unlike the
closed-circuit AESP, the network distributed its programming available directly to cable systems for home viewing. Its programming also expanded to include "informational" content.
[Jane Wells]
"When Did The Learning Channel Become The Leering Channel?"
Funny Business, CNBC
CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
, April 6, 2011 (NASA immediately launched
NASA TV as the ACSN's internal replacement.) By 1982, ACSN claimed that it "achieved the fastest rate of growth of all basic cable programming services", with availability on around 70 cable affiliates reaching 1.5 million subscribers; by this point, 70 universities granted academic credit for telecourses carried on the network.
On January 1, 1984, the network shortened its name to The Learning Channel.
The channel mostly featured documentary content pertaining to nature, science, history, current events, medicine, technology, cooking, home improvement, and other information-based topics. A notable example of such programming was ''Sew, What's New?'', a fashion design show presented by
George W. Trippon. These were more focused, more technical, and of a more academic nature than the content that was being broadcast at the time on its eventual rival, The
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
, which launched in 1985. TLC was geared toward an inquisitive and narrow audience during this time, and had modest ratings. An exception to this viewership commonality was ''Captain's Log'' (produced and hosted by Mark Graves, also known as Captain Mark Gray), a weekly primetime boating safety series that aired from 1987 to 1990; the program often achieved between a 4.5 to 6 rating share and was the highest compensated series in the history of TLC with over 30 times the compensation of any other series on the network.
In 1986, Infotech, Inc.—then-owner of the
Financial News Network (FNN)—acquired a 51% interest in The Learning Channel for $3 million; the American Community Service Network retained a 31.5% share of the network, with the remaining 17.5% owned by network management.
On February 15, 1991, The Discovery Channel, Inc.—owners of the namesake cable channel—announced it had reached an agreement to acquire The Learning Channel from ACSN and Infotech (the latter of which was in the process of a bankruptcy-led asset liquidation to repay creditors, subsequently resulting in the sale of the Financial News Network to a joint venture of
NBC and
Cablevision that integrated the network with rival financial news channel
CNBC
CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
) for $12.75 million (equivalent to $ million today). Under Discovery, The Learning Channel continued to focus primarily on instructional and educational programming for much of the 1990s; however, in what preceded its later expansion of such content, it also began to include shows less focused on education and geared more toward attracting popular consumption and mass marketing. In 1992, the network's name was shortened to "TLC", although the full name remained in use on alternating basis.
TLC continued to offer educational programs such as ''
Paleoworld'' (a show about prehistoric creatures), though more and more of its programming began to be devoted to niche audiences for shows regarding subjects like home improvement (''
Hometime'' and ''Home Savvy'' were two of the first), arts and crafts, crime programs such as ''
The New Detectives'', medical programming (particularly reality-based shows following real patients through the process of operations), and other shows that appealed to daytime audiences, particularly housewives. This was to be indicative of a major change in programming content and target audience over the next few years.
1998–2008: "Life Unscripted", new direction
TLC began to explore new avenues starting in the late 1990s, deemphasizing educational material in favor of entertainment.
''
Ready Set Learn!'', the network's children's program block, was slowly reduced through the years as the network deliberately redirected viewers towards the full-day lineup of children's programming on
Discovery Kids. The block was dropped completely in late 2008, and
Cable in the Classroom programming, meant for recording by teachers, was discontinued in 2014.
In 1998, the channel began to distance itself from its original name "The Learning Channel", and instead began to advertise itself only as "TLC". During this period, there was a huge shift in content, with most new programming being geared towards reality-drama and interior design shows. The huge success of shows like ''
Trading Spaces'', ''
Junkyard Wars'', ''A Wedding Story'', and ''
A Baby Story'' exemplified this new shift in programming towards more mass-appeal shows.
This came at a time when Discovery itself was overhauling much, and in some cases competition series of its own programming, introducing shows like ''
American Chopper'' (which Discovery moved to TLC for a time). Much of the older, more educationally focused programming could still be found dispersed amongst other channels owned by Discovery Communications.
On March 27, 2006, the network launched a new look and promotional campaign, dropping the "Life Unscripted" tag and introducing a new theme, "Live and Learn", trying to turn around the network's reliance on
decorating shows and
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways.
Philosophical questions abo ...
programming. As part of the new campaign, the channel's original name, "The Learning Channel", returned to occasional usage in promotions. The new theme also played on "life lessons", which featured heavily in the network's advertising and promotional clips. This campaign used humor to appeal to a target audience in their 30s. In 2007, TLC premiered ''Say Yes to the Dress'', a reality series following clients of Kleinfeld Bridal in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.
2008–present: Further focus on personal stories
In early March 2008, TLC launched a new imaging campaign, "Life Surprises". This new slogan came as TLC began to shift even more to personal stories, and away from the once-dominating home improvement shows. Programs focused on family life became the core of the channel. ''
Jon & Kate Plus 8'', which by 2008 was the highest-rated program on TLC,
and ''
Little People, Big World'' were joined by ''
17 Kids and Counting''—a show which followed the lives of the
Duggar family (and was in turn retitled ''18 Kids and Counting'', and then ''19 Kids and Counting'', as the family expanded), and ''
Table for 12'' in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The series ''
Toddlers & Tiaras'' also debuted in 2008, and proved popular enough to spawn a spin-off in 2012, ''
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'', focusing on the family life of recurring contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson.
Also premiering on TLC in 2009 was ''
Cake Boss'', which focuses on the head baker at Carlo's Bakery and his staff, who mostly consist of his family.
In July 2014, TLC introduced a new slogan and promotional campaign, "Everyone Needs a Little TLC", which continued to build upon the network's current focus on personal stories and family life. In 2014, ''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'' was canceled after it was reported that Alana's mother had been dating a registered sex offender.
In 2015, ''19 Kids and Counting'' was canceled by TLC
after the Duggars' eldest son,
Josh Duggar, admitted to acts of
molestation he had committed against minors while he was a teenager.
It was subsequently succeeded by a spin-off series, ''
Counting On'', which followed the adult lives of Duggar family members; the series was canceled in June 2021 after Josh Duggar was arrested on
child pornography
Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
charges (for which he was later convicted).
In 2017, home design programming began to return to the network with the premiere of ''Nate & Jeremiah By Design''; the series was renewed for a second season. In April 2018, TLC premiered a revival of ''
Trading Spaces'' (which accompanied the season 2 premiere of ''Nate & Jeremiah By Design''); the season premiere and an accompanying reunion special were seen by 2.8 million viewers, marking the network's highest-rated Saturday primetime program since 2010.
In March 2018, Discovery Communications acquired
Scripps Networks Interactive, and was renamed Discovery, Inc. TLC president Nancy Daniels left the network to become the chief brand officer of Discovery's factual networks, to replace the outgoing
Rich Ross. She was replaced by Scripps Networks' chief programmer Kathleen Finch as chief brand officer of Discovery's lifestyle networks, overseeing TLC and the six networks formerly owned by SNI (such as
HGTV and
Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
), among others. In 2019, HGTV and TLC premiered a co-commissioned revival of another former TLC series, ''
While You Were Out''; new episodes premiered on both networks simultaneously, with HGTV airing an alternate cut of the episode focusing more on the renovation process.
Programming
High-definition feed
A
high definition simulcast of TLC was launched on September 1, 2007. It is currently available on many subscription-television systems in the United States and Canada.
International
Middle East and North Africa
OSN—a paid platform in the Middle East and North Africa—launched TLC HD and broadcast it with the Discovery Network, using the same form as the American TLC channel and adding new exclusive Arabic-English programs from its production as "Nidaa".
It is broadcast in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, by satellite provider
yes.
The Americas
Canada
TLC's American feed is available in Canada on most cable and satellite providers, as it is authorized for carriage as a foreign cable television service by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
; save for a few differences it features the same programming schedule as that seen in the United States.
Latin America
The Latin American TLC HD, was launched on December 1, 2009, exclusively in high-definition, in the same style as the American channel (most of TLC's programming is available in standard-definition on
Discovery Home & Health). On November 1, 2011, the Latin American version of Discovery Travel & Living was relaunched as
TLC: Travel & Living Channel, which now also has a dedicated feed for Brazil.
Europe
United Kingdom and Ireland
An English-language version of the channel was originally launched in 1994 across Europe and was subsequently renamed Discovery Home and Leisure and later
Discovery Real Time as part of Discovery's slate of themed channels.
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
relaunched in the UK and Ireland on April 30, 2013.
Romania
TLC Romania was launched on January 20, 2011, replacing the European version of
Discovery Travel & Living in this country.
On August 2, 2022, it launched its local Romanian feed and audio track replacing the international feed.
Bulgaria
In early 2013 the channel launched in
Bulgaria.
Finland
In November 2016, TLC began to appear free, before that TLC was a payment channel in Finland.
France
TLC's
French channel launched on 26 February 2024 as a replacement for
Discovery Science
Discovery science (also known as discovery-based science) is a scientific methodology which aims to find new patterns, correlations, and form hypotheses through the analysis of large-scale experimental data. The term “discovery science” enc ...
.
Portugal
In November 2011, TLC Portugal debuted on ZON TV (now NOS TV) distributor and satellite services and after on MEO TV.
Greece
On October 3, 2011, TLC Greece debuted on the
Conn-x TV IPTV and
OTE TV satellite services.
Germany
TLC Germany launched on April 10, 2014, on cable, IPTV and satellite services in both HD and SD.
Hungary
The Channel's Hungarian version was launched on April 30, 2012, as TLC Hungary, replacing the European version of Discovery Travel & Living in on Central Europe's best country (The SD version available in Sat TV, Cable and IPTV, and almost HD version available in Hungarian BIX (IPTV) services).
Norway
A Norwegian version of the channel was launched on March 4, 2010, as
TLC Norway, replacing the European version of Discovery Travel & Living in Norway.
Poland
On October 1, 2010, the Polish version of Discovery Travel & Living was relaunched as
TLC Poland, replacing the European version of Discovery Travel & Living in Poland.
The Balkans
TLC Balkans was also launched on October 1, 2010, replacing the European version of the "Travel & Living Channel" in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. TLC Balkans' playout is from
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.
Netherlands/Flanders (Belgium)
On July 4, 2011, a
Dutch version was launched, time sharing with Animal Planet's standard definition feed. Animal Planet remained a 24-hour service for high-definition viewers. TLC became a 24-hour channel on January 8, 2013. It is also available in HD.
Switzerland
On June 3, 2014, the Swiss cable provider UPC Cablecom launched TLC in Switzerland.
Turkey
On November 6, 2015,
TLC Turkey began broadcasting replacing
CNBC-e channel.
Asia
On September 1, 2010, the Asia Pacific versions of Discovery Travel & Living were relaunched as
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, with the acronym standing for "Travel and Living Channel".
India
An
Indian version was launched in 2006 under the jurisdiction of
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
. It was relaunched as TLC on September 1, 2010.
South Korea
A
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n version was launched on December 4, 2013, under the
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Cha ...
and
CMB (Central Media Broadcasting Korea). The channel was replaced by EXF (Extreme Fun TV) on May 1, 2016.
Oceania
A New Zealand version was launched in the 2015 On Sky Television in New Zealand.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa
The network airs throughout the region on
DStv, and launched on September 1, 2011.
References
External links
*
TLC Norway official websiteTLC Poland official websiteTLC Russian official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tlc (Tv Channel)
English-language television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1972
Warner Bros. Discovery networks
Defunct agencies of the United States government
1972 establishments in the United States
Television networks in the United States