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This is alist of documentary channels, including channels that have been affected by "channel drift".[1] It also contains channels accused of a biasedpoint of view.
| Name | Launch | Country | Language | Content focus | Change of content/bias | Examples of content in original focus (past andpresent) | Owner/parent company |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBS America | 2011 | United Kingdom | English | History, Science, Current Affairs and Arts & Culture | Available onSky,Virgin Media,Freeview andFreesat | PBS | |
| A&E | 1984 | United States | English | Documentaries,biographies andcrime dramas (originally) | Reality shows,stereotypes (Southerners) | The First 48,Criminal Minds,CSI:Miami | A+E Networks |
| ABC | 1956 | Australia | English | Mass media, United Statescable | Live broadcasts (sports),tv shows (television programs),reality shows | ||
| Al Jazeera Documentary Channel | 2007 | Qatar | Arabic | Documentary films | Al Jazeera has been criticized for beingstate media owned byQatar and assailed as anti-Semitic, anti-American bias. | Al Jazeera Media Network | |
| American Heroes Channel | 1999 | USA | English | World War II, U.S. war documentaries | |||
| Animal Planet | 1996 | USA | English | Wildlife, animals, relation between humans and animals | Speculative fiction andpseudo-documentaries (mermaids,dragons), non-animal shows[2][3][4][5] | Cats 101,Dogs 101 | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| APTN | 1992 | Canada | English | Programs andnews aboutAboriginal peoples in Canada | Some non-Aboriginal programming[6] | APTN National News,Blackstone,Cooking With the Wolfman | |
| Arte | 1992 | France, Germany | French,German | Arts,culture | |||
| BBC | 1922 | UK | English | Mass media,public broadcasting | |||
| BBC Four | 1999 | UK | English | Culture,current affairs | British Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| BBC Earth | 2015 | UK | English | Nature and wildlife documentaries | BBC Studios | ||
| BBC Parliament | 1992 | UK | English | Parliamentary andlegislative programs | British Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| BeIN İZ | 2006 | Turkey | Turkish | History and society documentary | beIN Media Group | ||
| Bravo | 1995 | Canada | English | Televisiondramas, films, art-related programming | Film-dramas, non-art TV shows[7][8] | Inside the Actors Studio,Blue Bloods,19-2,Dallas,Criminal Minds | |
| C-SPAN | 1979 | USA | English | Government proceedings andpublic affairs | |||
| C-SPAN 2 | 1986 | USA | English | Government proceedings and public affairs | |||
| C-SPAN 3 | 2001 | USA | English | Government proceedings and public affairs | |||
| Canal D | 1995 | Canada | French | Crime, biographies,nature, andscience | Bell Media | ||
| Canal+ Docs | 2021 | France | French | History and society documentary | Canal+ S.A. | ||
| Canal+ Dokument | 2019 | Poland | Polish | ||||
| Canal+ Discover | 2021 | Ethiopia | Oromo | ||||
| Amharic | |||||||
| Canal+ Su Sann | 2018 | Myanmar | Burmese | ||||
| CCTV-9 | 2011 | China | It has one editions: one inChinese for mainland China. | Documentary shows | CCTV | ||
| CGTN Documentary | 2016 | China | It has one editions: one in English for international broadcasting. | Documentary shows | CGTN | ||
| CMT (Canada) | 1995 | Canada | English | Country music, country music videos | Blue Collar Comedy Tour,Canadian Country Music Awards,CMT Music Awards | ||
| CNBC | 1989 | USA | English | Business news, financial news | NBCUniversal | ||
| CNN | 1980 | USA | English | United States cable news, documentaries | Accused of bothconservative andliberal bias in news[9] | News covering both conservative and liberal topics | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Cosmote History | 2016 | Greece | Greek | Documentary and historical fiction series | OTE | ||
| Crime and Investigation Network | 2004 | USA | English | Crime-related | A+E Networks | ||
| ČT art | 2013 | Czech Republic | Czech | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | Czech Television | ||
| CTV Nature Channel | 2001 | Canada | English | Science, nature, and history documentary programs | Bell Media | ||
| CTV Speed Channel | 2005 | Automotive industry and transportation documentary programs | |||||
| CTV Wild Channel | 2001 | Wildlife, animals, relation between humans and animals documentary programs | |||||
| Da Vinci Learning | 2007 | Germany | English | History,sociology, biology,physics documentary | |||
| Digi Animal World | 2012 | Romania | Romanian | Nature and wildlife documentary | Digi Communications | ||
| Digi World | History and society documentary | ||||||
| DD National | 1957 | India | Hindi | Prasar Bharati | |||
| DD Bharati | 1985 | India | Hindi | History | Prasar Bharati | ||
| Destination America | 1996 | USA | English | Traveling, how-to travel, hotel and cities touring,lifestyle,history | Speculative fiction[10] | Hidden in America | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Discovery Channel | 1985 | USA | English | Popular science,technology and history | Reality shows, speculative fiction (time-travel, alternate universes, theparanormal, etc.), speculative fiction[11][12][13][14][15] | MythBusters,Daily Planet,Curiosity,The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius,Frozen Planet,Life | |
| Discovery Historia | 2006 | Poland | Polish | History | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | ||
| Discovery History | 1999 | UK | English | History | Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA | ||
| Discovery Life | 2011 | USA | English | Fitness andhealth | |||
| Discovery World | 1998 | USA | English | Travel, culture and history | Replaced byDTX in Europe | Warner Bros. Discovery | |
| Documentales por Movistar Plus+ | 2023 | Spain | Spanish | History and society documentary | Telefónica | ||
| Documentary Channel | 2001 | Canada | English | Documentary films | CBC | ||
| DTour | 1997 | Canada | English | Travel, lifestyle | Corus Entertainment | ||
| Encore | 1991 | USA | English | Theatrically releasedfeature films (older to more recent), TV shows (on some channels) | |||
| Encuentro | 2007 | Argentina | Spanish | History, science and general culture | |||
| Epic | 2014 | India | Hindi,English | Infotainment, Travel | |||
| Food Food | 2006 | India | Hindi | Food, Cooking | |||
| Food Network | 1993 | USA | English | Food, cooking,cuisine, thefood industry | Warner Bros. Discovery | ||
| Food Network (Canada) | 2000 | Canada | English | Food, cooking, cuisine, the food industry | Corus Entertainment | ||
| Fox News Channel | 1996 | USA | English | United States cable news | Accused of conservative bias[16][17][18] in news although this has been stated as unsubstantiated by members of Fox News[19][20][21][17][22][23] | Fox Corporation | |
| France 4 | 2005 | France | French | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | France Télévisions | ||
| France 5 | 1994 | France | French | Documentaries,educational programming | |||
| France.tv Docs | 2024 | France | French | Documentary | |||
| Focus | 2012 | Italy | Italian | Documentaries, programming | Mediaset | ||
| FYI | 1999 | USA | English | Biographical shows | Reality shows, speculative fiction (curses,alien and ghost encounters)[24] | Biography | A+E Networks |
| Geo Television | 2014 | Germany | German | Documentary, science, history, nature | RTL Group | ||
| HGTV | 1994 | USA | English | How-to shows with a focus onhome improvement,gardening,remodeling andcrafts | Warner Bros. Discovery | ||
| Histoire TV | 1997 | France | French | Documentary programming about history | Groupe TF1 | ||
| Historia | 2000 | Canada | French | Historic dramas, documentaries, movies,human interests programs | A+E Networks | ||
| History | 1995 | USA | English | Documentary and historical fiction series | Reality shows, speculative documentaries (Ancient Aliens),apocalypse shows, US history, non-historic reality shows, fairly homogeneous viewpoint, concentrated program topics (World War II,[25][26][27][28][29][15] | Museum Secrets,Ancients Behaving Badly | A+E Networks |
| History (Canada) | 1997 | Canada | English | Documentary and historical fiction series | Reality shows, apocalypse shows, speculative fiction[30] | A+E Networks | |
| HLN | 1984 | USA | English | 30-minutenewscast | Tabloid,Crime,opinion,[31][32] andentertainment news-related programming[33] | Morning Express with Robin Meade | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| ICI ARTV | 2001 | Canada | French | Documentary, culture, arts and music | CBC | ||
| ICI Explora | 2012 | Canada | French | Science, environment, nature and health | |||
| Investigation | 2013 | Canada | French | Investigation and justice documentary | Bell Media | ||
| Investigation Discovery | 1996 | USA | English | Crime-related | Warner Bros. Discovery | ||
| JOJ Svet | 2023 | Slovakia | Slovak | Documentary, science, history, nature | J&T Enterprise | ||
| Kabel Eins Doku | 2016 | Germany | German | Documentary, science, history, nature | ProSiebenSat.1 Media | ||
| Knowledge Network | 1981 | Canada | English | Politics, culture, history, arts, music, health,parenting, and science | |||
| Kunskapskanalen | 2004 | Sweden | Swedish | Government proceedings, Educational | SVT | ||
| M5 | 2016 | Hungary | Hungarian | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | MTVA | ||
| MCM | 1989 | France | French | Music videos (popular music, French music) | Reality shows, horror series,anime shows[34] | Top 50 hebdo,MCM sur le dancefloor,Top 50 quotidien | |
| Military History | 1999 | USA | English | World War II, wars,generals | A+E Networks | ||
| IRIB Mostanad | 2011 | Iran | Persian | Culture,arts,society,politics,history,wilderness,nature and theIran–Iraq War | IRIB | ||
| MSNBC | 1996 | USA | English | Documentary in current affairs | NBCUniversal | ||
| MTV India (previously MTV3 Fakta) | 2006 | India | Hindi | Documentaries, Music | Paramount Networks EMEAA | ||
| N24 Doku | 2016 | Germany | German | Documentary, science, history, nature | WeltN24 | ||
| Nat Geo | 1997 | USA | English | Nature, culture, science,engineering & technology, history & society | Reality shows/stereotypes (Navajo,Southerners shows, theAmish and other minority groups) and apocalypse shows[35][15][36] | Explorer,Taboo | The Walt Disney Company |
| Nat Geo Music | 2007 | Italy, India | English | Documentaries about cultures and music around the world | |||
| Nat Geo Wild | 2010 | Hong Kong, India | English | Wildlife,natural history | |||
| National Geographic Adventure | 1994 | Singapore | English | Outdoor, travel andexploration | |||
| OLN | 1997 | Canada | English | Fact-based outdoor adventure shows | Speculative fiction (aliens, ghosts,monsters, paranormal), reality shows,conspiracy theories[37] | Departures,Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan,Descending,Duck Commander,Python Hunters,Survivorman,Mantracker | |
| Paramount Network | 1983 | USA | English | A movie channel focusing primarily on theatrical and original made-for-TV films. | Originally founded as TNN, rebranded as Spike TV, now Paramount | Paramount Skydance | |
| PBS | 1970 | USA | English | Non-profit television, fine arts, drama, science, history, music, public affairs,independent films,home improvement,interviews | Accused ofanti-Communist and liberal point-of-view[38][39] | ||
| Phoenix | 1997 | Germany | German | Documentaries, news broadcasts, special events, discussion programmes | ARD,ZDF | ||
| Planète+ | 1988 | France | French | Documentaries | Canal+ S.A. | ||
| 2021 | Poland | Polish | |||||
| Planète+ Aventure | 1998 | France | French | Documentaries programming about adventures | |||
| Planète+ Crime | 2007 | France | French | Documentaries programming about investigation and justice | |||
| Polsat Doku | 2017 | Poland | Polish | Documentaries | Telewizja Polsat | ||
| Polsat X | 2025 | Poland | Polish | Adventures and science documentary | |||
| Prima History | 2023 | Romania | Romanian | Documentary focuses in History | Clever Group | ||
| Prima Zoom | 2013 | Czech Republic | Czech | Documentary, science, history, nature | FTV Prima | ||
| Rai 5 | 2010 | Italy | Italian | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | RAI | ||
| Rai Scuola | 2009 | Italy | Italian | Educational | |||
| Rai Storia | 2009 | Italy | Italian | Historical events, occasionally with current relevance | |||
| RMC Découverte | 2012 | France | French | Documentary, men's interest | RMC BFM | ||
| RMC Story | 2012 | France | French | Documentary, science, history, nature | |||
| RT Documentary | 2011 | Russia | English,Russian | Russia | ANO TV-Novosti | ||
| RTS Nauka | 2020 | Serbia | Serbian | Documentary, Nature, Science | RTS | ||
| RTS Trezor | 2016 | Documentary, History | |||||
| Russian Travel Guide | 2009 | Russia | English, Russian,Turkish | Nature, science, culture, and history of theRussian Federation | |||
| Science | 1996 | USA | English | Space, technology and science | Speculative fiction, non- science shows[40][15] | The Challenger Disaster,How Do They Do It?,How It's Made,Futurescape,What Is That?,How The Universe Works,Wonders of Life | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Showcase | 1995 | Canada | English | Canadian and worldwide independent films, drama,comedy,mini-series | American shows and movies | ||
| Sky Adventure | 2025 | Italy | Italian | Adventures and extreme sport documentary | Sky Group | ||
| Sky Arts | 2007 | UK | English | Arts including, theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music | |||
| Sky Arte | 2012 | Italy | Italian | ||||
| Sky Documentaries | 2020 | UK | English | History and society documentary | |||
| 2021 | Germany | German | |||||
| Italy | Italian | ||||||
| Sky Crime | 2019 | UK | English | Investigation and justice documentary | |||
| 2021 | Germany | German | |||||
| 2023 | Italy | Italian | |||||
| Sky History | 2020 | UK | English | Documentary and historical fiction series | Museum Secrets,Ancients Behaving Badly | ||
| Sky Nature | 2020 | UK | English | Nature and wildlife documentary | |||
| 2021 | Germany | German | |||||
| Italy | Italian | ||||||
| Space | 1997 | Canada | English | Science fiction,space-related programming | Reality shows,fantasy,horror, paranormal[41] | InnerSPACE,Star Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Voyager,Stargate Universe,Stargate Atlantis,Stargate SG-1,Doctor Who | |
| TGRT Belgesel | 2010 | Turkey | Turkish | Documentary | İhlas Yayın Holding | ||
| Travel Channel | 1987 | USA | English | Traveling, how-to travel, hotel and cities touring | Paranormal (haunted places, ghosts)[42] | Marianela's Best Beaches,Edge of America,No Reservations,Samantha Brown,Best of the Road,Off Limits,Top 5 | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| TruTV | 1991 | USA | English | Legal programming | Reality shows[43] | Sony Pictures Entertainment | |
| TRT Belgesel | 2009 | Turkey | Turkish | Documentary | Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu | ||
| TV4 Fakta | 2005 | Sweden | Swedish | Science | TV4 AB | ||
| TVP Historia | 2005 | Poland | Polish | Documentary, History | Telewizja Polska | ||
| TVP Kultura | 2007 | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | |||||
| TVP Dokument | 2020 | Documentary | |||||
| TVP Nauka | 2022 | Documentary, Nature, Science | |||||
| U&Eden | 2004 | UK | English | Documentary, Nature | UKTV (BBC Studios) | ||
| U&Yesterday | 2004 | UK | English | Documentary, History | |||
| Viasat Explorer | 2002 | Sweden | English | Wild animals,extreme sports,adventure, travel and technology | Viasat World LTD | ||
| Viasat History | 2004 | Sweden | English | History, culture and society | |||
| Viasat Nature | 1994 | Sweden | Swedish,Danish,Norwegian | Nature and wildlife | |||
| ViJu Explorer | 2023 | Russia | Russian | Wild animals,extreme sports,adventure, travel and technology | Viasat Russia | ||
| ViJu History | History, culture and society | ||||||
| ViJu Nature | Nature and wildlife | ||||||
| W Network | 1995 | Canada | English | Women-orientedfeminist programming[44] | Primetime movies | ||
| The Weather Channel | 1982 | USA | English | Weather news and information | Documentary programs[45] | ||
| The Weather Network | 1988 | Canada | English | Weather news and information | |||
| TVR Cultural | 2002(original) 2022(relaunch) | Romania | Romanian | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | Televiziunea Română | ||
| Ushuaïa TV | 2005 | France | French | Documentary programming about nature | Groupe TF1 | ||
| YLE Teema Fem | 2017 | Finland | Finnish | Documentary, Culture, Arts, Music | YLE | ||
| ZDFinfo | 1997 | Germany | German | ZDF | |||
| Zee Documentary | 2001 | India | English, Hindi | Learning, culture and sciences | Zee Entertainment | ||
| National Documentary Channel | 2019 | Somalia | Somali | Culture and Sciences | National Documentary Channel | ||
| Zing | 2006 | India | Hindi | Indian Music | Zee Entertainment |
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