The Learning Channel
| TLC | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 1972 (as Appalachian Community Service Network) November 1980 (as The Learning Channel) 1992 (as TLC) |
| Owned by | Discovery Communications |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Slogan | Everyone Needs A Little TLC |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Spanish (via SAP audio track) |
| Broadcast area | United States Canada |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Formerly called | Appalachian Community Service Network (1970–80) The Learning Channel (1980–92) |
| Sister channel(s) |
Discovery Channel Oprah Winfrey Network (50%) Animal Planet Destination America Discovery Family (60%) Discovery Life Investigation Discovery American Heroes Channel Science Velocity |
| Website | www |
|
Availability
|
|
| Terrestrial | |
| evotv (Croatia) | Channel 502 |
| Digata (Finland) | Channel 18 |
| Satellite | |
| Dish Network | 183 (HD/SD) |
| C-Band (4DTV Digital) | AMC-10 - 604 |
| DirecTV | 280 (HD/SD) |
| Canal Digital (Finland) | Channel 12 |
| Cable | |
| Available on most cable providers | Check local listings for details |
| Verizon FIOS | 639 (HD) 139 (SD) |
| DNA (Finland) | Channel 18 |
| Elisa (Finland) | Channel 18 |
| Sonera (Finland) | Channel 18 |
| IPTV | |
| AT&T U-verse | 1250 (HD) 250 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| PlayStation Vue | Internet Protocol television |
TLC (an abbreviation of its former name, The Learning Channel) is an American basic cable and satellite television network that is owned by Discovery Communications. Initially focused on educational and learning content, by the late 1990s, the network began to primarily focus towards reality series involving lifestyles, family life, and personal stories.
As of February 2015, approximately 95 million American households (81.6% of households with cable television) receive TLC, although this does not indicate TLC's viewership as of February 2016.
The channel was founded in 1972 by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and NASA as the Appalachian Community Service Network, and was an informative and instructional network focused on providing real education through the medium of television; it was distributed at no cost by NASA satellite.
ACSN was privatized in 1980, and its name was changed to "The Learning Channel" in November of that year; the name was subsequently shortened to "TLC." (NASA immediately launched NASA TV as the ACSN's internal replacement.) The channel mostly featured documentary content pertaining to nature, science, history, current events, medicine, technology, cooking, home improvement, and other information-based topics. These are often agreed to have been more focused, more technical, and of a more academic nature than the content that was being broadcast at the time on its rival, The Discovery Channel. The channel was geared toward an inquisitive and narrow audience during this time, and had modest ratings except for the boating safety series Captain's Log with Captain Mark Gray (hosted by Mark Graves, a USMC Vietnam Vet 1967–70, Entertainer, Escape Artist, Magician, and TV Writer/Producer/Host). Captain's Log aired on TLC from 1987 to 1990. It achieved between a 4.5 to 6 share in the ratings and was the highest compensated series in the history of TLC with over 30 times the compensation of any other TLC series. Mark Graves AKA "Captain Mark Gray" was also allowed to sign yearly rather than quarterly contracts. He decided to not seek another contract renewal when Discovery acquired TLC in 1990 and moved its operations from Virginia to Denver, Colorado.
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