Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Worldwide Nationwide |
Headquarters | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
Programming | |
Picture format | 720p HDTV (downscaled to 480i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company (73%) and National Geographic Society (27%) |
Parent | National Geographic Global Networks (Disney Entertainment) and National Geographic Partners |
Sister channels | |
History | |
Launched | January 7, 2001 |
Former names | National Geographic Channel (2001–2016) |
Links | |
Website | natgeotv.com |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
Service(s) | YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, FuboTV, Vidgo, DirecTV Stream |
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Entertainment and National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%), [1] [2] with the operational management handled by Disney Entertainment. [3]
The flagship channel airs non-fiction television programs produced by National Geographic and other production companies. Like History (which is 50% owned by Disney through A&E Networks) and Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual content involving nature, science, culture, and history, plus some reality and pseudo-scientific entertainment programming[ citation needed ]. Its primary sister network worldwide, including the United States, is Nat Geo Wild, which focuses on animal-related programming, including the popular Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan .
As of February 2015, National Geographic is available to approximately 86,144,000 pay television households (74% of households with television) in the United States. [4]
In the United States, the National Geographic Channel launched on January 7, 2001, [5] as a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks. National Geographic provides programming expertise and the Fox Networks Group provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, and advertising sales.
The '90s: The Last Great Decade , a documentary series narrated by Rob Lowe, pulled in 1.10 million viewers, and was the second highest-rated July telecast in the National Geographic Channel rating history. The 2000s: A New Reality, also narrated by Lowe, premiered on July 12, 2015. [6]
On November 14, 2016, National Geographic Channel was renamed as simply National Geographic, dropping the "Channel" from its name.
On December 14, 2017, in a deal, The Walt Disney Company announced it would buy the majority of 21st Century Fox. Disney would assume control of Fox's controlling stake in the National Geographic partnership thereafter. [7] Following the acquisition, National Geographic and its sister channels were folded into Walt Disney Television, with the president of the National Geographic Partners reporting directly to the Walt Disney Television chairman. [8] Disney officially closed the deal on March 20, 2019, having then added Nat Geo into its portfolio of networks. [2]
On September 15, 2023, Byron Allen made a $10B bid to buy ABC, FX & National Geographic as Bob Iger claimed it 'may not be core' to Disney. [9] On November 29th, 2023, Iger announced he was no longer interested in selling Disney's linear TV assets, effectively rejecting Bryon Allen's offer. [10]
National Geographic Channel's TV shows, in alphabetical order:
The National Geographic Channel's signature theme fanfare music, which is played at the beginning of many of the channel's television programs, was composed by Elmer Bernstein. It was originally written in 1964 for the Society's television specials, which were broadcast on CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC from 1964 until the early 2000s.
The United States 720p high definition simulcast of the National Geographic Channel launched in January 2006. It is available on all major cable and satellite providers.
Nat Geo Wild (stylized as Nat Geo WILD or abbreviated as NGW) is a cable/satellite TV channel focused on animal-related programs. It is a sister network to National Geographic Channel and it is the latest channel to be jointly launched by the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks. It was launched in United States on March 29, 2010, focusing primarily on wildlife and natural history programming.
Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Spanish |
Picture format | 480i SDTV |
Ownership | |
Owner | National Geographic Society |
History | |
Launched | 2011 |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
Service(s) | FuboTV, YouTube TV, Vidgo, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream |
Nat Geo Mundo is broadcast in American Spanish, and was launched in 2011. [13] It shares programming with the Nat Geo Channel available in Hispanic American countries. The channel is fully-owned by the National Geographic Society with no involvement from Disney General Entertainment Content.
Nat Geo TV is an application for smartphones and tablet computers, along with Windows 10. It allows subscribers of participating pay television providers (such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast Xfinity) numerous viewing options:
In 2013, the network began airing the reality show Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout? . National Geographic Channel was criticized for their association with the Boy Scouts of America, an organization which, until a vote in May of that year that overturned its ban, had forbidden openly gay members. [14]
Archaeologists have protested that National Geographic shows such as Diggers and Nazi War Diggers promote the looting and destruction of archaeological sites by promoting the work of metal detecting souvenir hunters and collectable dealers. [15] In 2013 the National Geographic Channel set off a firestorm of controversy with its reality show Diggers. Professional archaeologists from the Society for Historical Archaeology, the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400–present), roundly criticized the network for promoting the theft of cultural materials on public and private land. [16] The show Nazi War Diggers was accused of showing unscientific and disrespectful handling of human remains. A promotional quote from a military relic dealer, "I feel that by selling things that are Nazi-related and for lots of money, I am preserving things that museums don't want to deal with," was removed from the channel's website in March 2014. National Geographic expressed regret for how the series was presented by its own website but maintained that many of the accusations against the series were based on misinformation. [17] The show was repackaged, amid controversy, as Battlefield Recovery for air during 2016 on Channel 5 in the UK. [18]
Fox Reality Channel was an American pay television channel. It was launched on May 24, 2005, and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were originally on the Fox network. The channel also featured reality shows syndicated from other networks, as well as many international shows from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Disney General Entertainment Content (DGEC), formerly ABC Group, Disney–ABC Television Group and the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television, is part of Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company that oversees its owned-and-operated television content, assets and sub-divisions.
Nat Geo People is an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted at female audiences, with programming focusing on people and cultures, the channel is available in 50 countries in both linear and non-linear formats.
Star Life was a pay television network in Latin America, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2005. The network's scheduling varied with each version, ranging from traditional entertainment programming, including television series, sitcoms and films.
National Geographic Wild is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). The channel primarily focuses on wildlife and natural history non-fiction programming. It is a sister network to National Geographic TV.
Fox Networks Group (FNG) was the international division of 21st Century Fox. The division oversaw the production and broadcasting of the Fox brands in the United States and internationally. These brands included Fox, Fox Sports, National Geographic, and BabyTV, as well producing and distributing more than 300 entertainment, film, sports and factual channels in 45 languages across Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia, using several brands in those regions. Among their non-linear brands were Fox Play and Fox Plus. These brands reached over 1.725 billion households around the world.
Disney XD was a Latin American pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company and one of the channels of Disney Branded Television which operated across Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean region it is based on the original American network.
BabyTV is a multilingual, international television channel for babies, toddlers and preschoolers aged 3 or lower. The channel is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Limited, the international division of The Walt Disney Company and is headquartered in London with television distribution handled by Disney subsidiaries across the world. The channel first launched in 2003 in Israel and in 2005 in the United Kingdom. BabyTV is distributed in over 100 countries, broadcasting in 18 languages. The channel broadcasts shows without television commercial interruptions. In the United States, the channel is distributed by Disney General Entertainment Content.
National Geographic Oceania was a subscription television documentary network in Oceania that featured programmes on subjects such as nature, science, culture and history, plus some reality television and pseudo-scientific entertainment programming. It was the Oceanian version of the National Geographic Channel Asia Pacific. From 2020 to 2023, it was the only Disney-owned network in Oceania and to broadcast as a linear television channel, with the Disney Channel and Disney Junior having been shut down in favour of the streaming service Disney+.
Fox was an Italian television channel, owned by Fox Networks Group Italy and broadcast in Italy by Sky Italia on Channel 112. Launched on 31 July 2003, coinciding with the launch of Sky Italy, it broadcast its programs in Italian and English. In 2009, it started broadcasting in HD.
Nat Geo Music was a television music channel operated as a part of National Geographic Global Networks, which is a business unit of National Geographic Partners. The channel works in conjunction with the Society's music division National Geographic Music and Radio (NGMR).
Disney Junior is a cable and satellite television channel in Hispanic America. It is the local variant of the American channel of the same name. It is broadcast in two feeds: North Zone and South Zone. It is marketed to preschoolers. Disney Junior is operated by Disney Media Networks Latin America; part of The Walt Disney Company Latin America.
National Geographic was a pan-Asian subscription television channel owned by Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific. The channel featured non-fiction, factual programming involving nature, science, culture and history, produced by the National Geographic Society, just like History and Discovery Channel.
Global Reality Channel was a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. The channel broadcasts reality television series and related programming. It was an offshoot of the Shaw-owned Global Television Network, which is now owned by Corus Entertainment.
National Geographic Wild is a Pan-European pay television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features documentaries about nature, wildlife, natural phenomenon, and earth. The channel replaced Adventure One in Europe on 1 March 2007.
The state broadcaster Kuwait Television operates the domestic channels, including KTV1, KTV2 and KTV Sport.
National Geographic Partners, LLC is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the namesake non-profit scientific organization National Geographic Society. The company oversees all commercial activities related to the Society, including magazine publications and television channels. The company's board of managers is evenly divided between the Society and Disney.
Nat Geo Kids was a Latin American pay television channel targeting children ages 3 to 11, owned by Disney Channels Worldwide and National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and National Geographic Society.
National Geographic Global Networks is a business unit within National Geographic Partners and Disney Entertainment that oversees the National Geographic-branded television channels: National Geographic, Nat Geo Kids, Nat Geo Music, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo Wild and National Geographic Studios. The unit itself was a joint operation between 21st Century Fox (21CF) and the Society, but it was later integrated into the new joint venture National Geographic Partners which they formed in 2015. On March 20, 2019, 21CF's share in National Geographic Partners was assumed by Disney, following its acquisition of most 21CF businesses.
FX is a brand name used by a number of different television channels throughout the world owned by FX Networks, a subsdiary of Disney Entertainment. FX was originally established as a standard or premium cable television channel in the United States but has expanded worldwide.
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