TLC (TV channel)
TLC is a
cable TV network in the
US, that carries a variety of informational and
reality-based programming. TLC has been owned by
Discovery Communications since 1991, the same company that operates the
Discovery Channel and
Animal Planet, as well as other learning-themed networks.
TLC imports a significant amount of programming material from the
United Kingdom (such as
Junkyard Wars) mostly through its parent company's ties to the
BBC and also produces U.S. versions of some shows (like
What Not to Wear, originally a
BBC production) as well as original programming (like
Robotica).
The network has launched a new look and promotional campaign, dropping the
Life Unscripted tag as of
March 27,
2006 and going with the new theme,
Live and learn, trying to turn around the network's reliance on
decorating shows and
reality TV programming.
The letters "TLC" come from the original name: "The Learning Channel." The channel was founded in
1972 originally dedicated to be an informative/instructional network focused on providing real education through the medium of TV. 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 be 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 station was much geared towards an inquisitive and narrow audience during this time, and had modest ratings.
The Learning Channel suffered from this difficulty in engaging a wider audience through much of its initial history. Because the channel's content was so education-orientated, many people apparently associated it as a channel meant for students and children, and perceived it as "dry" and "dull" and only of interest to a narrow spectrum of viewers (what some might call "
nerds") similar to the perceptions the general public seems to have of
PBS or
CSPAN. According to TLC chief executive Roger Marmet "People always had this connotation that it was a children's channel, and that was one of our biggest pieces of baggage". The channel suffered from increasingly poor ratings
|
Former logo for TLC, used from 1992-2006, with the Life Unscripted tag added in 1999. |
In 1991, The Learning Channel was purchased by its rival The Discovery Channel. Discovery purportedly "jazzed things up". The Learning Channel continued to be focused primarily on instructional and educational programming through much of the '90s, but began to air shows with less focused educational agendas, and more themed towards popular consumption and mass-marketing that would be later expanded.
TLC produced a great deal of original, and commonly regarded to be high-quality, documentaries, miniseries, and series during late '80s and early-to-late '90s, many of which are co-productions with broadcasters in the
United Kingdom. Examples of some of these include
The Secret Life of Machines, Ultrascience, and the outstanding history-of-science series with
James Burke,
Connections.
Understanding was a full series, similar to
The Ultimate Guide that gave the viewer a complete one-hour look at a different subject each episode. The show was known for its comprehensive overlook of various complex subjects, and was generally lauded by teachers (as well as many students, and many non-academics who were interested in such programming) around the country. The show is most-noted for the being narrated by
Candice Bergen. Topics explored included fire, cities, laughter, the brain, magnetism, electricity, uncertainty, and many others. The series is still sometimes aired on
The Science Channel.
Another noteworthy example of TLC-produced content in the '90s, is the epic 8 part series
War and Civilization (originally aired in 1998), which explored the entirety of human history in context of the links between civilization and the phenomenon of war, and their effects on the each others' developments and progress. The program featured commentary by high-profile military historian
John Keegan, was narrated by
Walter Cronkite, and intended to be a major broadcast event. Another production of TLC that still airs today on other Discovery branched channels is
Rome: Power and Glory (originally aired in 1999 and now shown from time-to-time on Discovery Times Channel), an in-depth 6-hour look at the Ancient Roman Empire, from beginning to end. Such programming still formed the bulk of the focus of TLC, 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 (similar to
Martha Stewart) and medical programming (particularly reality-based ones following real operations of real people and following them through the process), 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.
*Live and Learn
*Life Unscripted
Perhaps due to poor ratings from a narrow target audience, TLC began to explore new avenues starting in the mid 90's and increasingly towards and after the advent of the 21st century. Less and less material that most would deem to be truly educational in nature was featured on the channel. This was likely due to better ratings being achieved by shows such as these, as TLC brought in more viewers that were less-interested the other content being featured on the channel.
In 1998, the channel officially began to distance itself from its original name "The Learning Channel", and instead began to advertise itself only as "TLC". This may have had to do with the channel drawing in an increasing number of female viewers watching the shows that were centered on home decorating and interior design, as well as the rising number of medical shows, specifically ones regarding pregnancy (the forerunners of
A Baby Story). It's possible the new audience may have held the common misconception that TLC stood for "Tender Love and Care", a common acronym. The marketing maneuver to use only "TLC" may have been intended to encourage this misconception, as the station moved more towards reality-based personal-story programming that would engage a wider, more mainstream audience, a high proportion of which would arguably be female. Today, a visit to TLC's website will show almost no mention at all of "The Learning Channel", with "TLC" being used almost exclusively. This move to distance themselves from a "PBS Stereotype", was accompanied by a change in motto, and paradigm.
The explosion of popularity around reality TV programming was a huge boom to TLC. The huge revolution in genre produced by shows like Big Brother, Survivor, and American Idol, created an opportunity for TLC to reach out to a wider audience and pursue new avenues of programming. Around the turn of the century, the Channel changed its official slogan to "Life Unscripted", from the previous "a place for learning minds". This change came before the huge reality TV boom, and perhaps in anticipation of it. During the period of 1999 through 2001 there was a huge shift in programming, with most programming 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 exemplify this new shift in programming towards trendier, more hip shows; shows which many would argue are not educational at all.
This came at a time when Discovery itself was overhauling much of its own programming, introducing shows like
American Chopper. Much of the old, more educationally-focused programming missed by original fans of the channel can still be found occasionally dispersed amongst other channels owned by Discovery Communications. Most programming today is geared towards reality-based drama or interests such as home design, Emergency Room dramas, other medical dramas, extreme weather, law enforcement, dating, and human interest programs.
Some of the shows currently on TLC include:
*
A Baby Story â€" A show following the journey of real expected parents through the
prenatal phase, birth, and initial child care.
*
Honey, We're Killing the Kids- A program that shows the consequences of instilling poor eating habits in children.
*
Little People, Big World - Little people learn to live life.
*
Martha â€" A show hosted by the well-known
home-making queen,
Martha Stewart.
*
Miami Ink â€" A reality show, similar in many ways to the popular show
American Choppers that airs on Discovery, that follows the day-to-day operations, interactions, and internal dramas of a thriving
Miami tattoo parlor.
*
One Week to Save Your Marriage Dr.
Robi Ludwig counsels couples with failing marriages.
*
Overhaulin' - A reality show in which award-winning automobile designer
Chip Foose steals an old car (with the help of the owner's spouse, family, or friends, but not the owner) and, aided by a team of automotive experts, transforms it into a show car in about a week. The oblivious owner gets pranked, but the surprise of a lifetime when the car is returned.
*
Property Ladder - A show where first-time investors attempt to repair and flip homes for a profit.
*
Psychic Witness â€" A show about
psychic forensics and
psychic detectives.
*
Shalom in the Home - A program helping to resolve family conflict.
*
Take Home Chef â€" Cooking show featuring
Curtis Stone.
*
The Messengers â€" Reality show in which motivational speakers compete for a publishing deal.
*
Trading Spaces â€" A reality show where two teams have to redecorate the other's home in some fashion, and surprise them with the results. This sometimes includes one party's dismay and shock at horrible design choices, and other times results in elation at particularly beautiful remodeling jobs.
*
Untold Stories of the E.R. â€" A reality medical drama following peoples' dramatic experiences at the Emergency Room.
*
What Not to Wear â€" A reality
fashion show that provides fashion advice, examines evolving trends and styles, and where participants with poor taste are brought on the show for makeovers.
*
While You Were Out â€" A reality show in which an unsuspecting participant is tricked by their spouse, friend, or family member to leave town for a few days, while the shows crew comes in and does a complete remodeling job on their home, garage, yard, etc. The returning party is then surprised by the unexpected changes for good or ill.
Many today, particularly academics and the channel's original audience, are critical of the "Life Unscripted" changes made to TLC's identity and programming. Some see the fact that the
learning channel no longer has much of anything to do with learning is yet another sign of "the
dumbing down of
American television" and in a wider sense, both a cause and symptom of "the
dumbing down of America". Some now categorize TLC programming as "
infotainment", and even that is seen as a
euphemism, since there is so little
info left in the programming. Many of the original audience stopped watching the channel years ago, and have moved to other networks such as PBS,
National Geographic Channel, or to the Discovery-owned digital channels.
Common arguments include that TLC's movement towards trying to fit the misnomer of "Tender, Loving, Care" has set it up as more and more of a female-orientated network, as shows aimed at male audiences (such as
Junkyard Wars) have become increasingly rare, and tend to air after daytime hours.
Another widely held complaint is that content on TLC is repetitive, and follows popular mainstream trends in an effort to appeal to female viewers. Many argue that most TLC content can now be narrowly categorized as either sex, dating, interior design, human drama, forensics, psychic and paranormal phenomena, medical drama, pregnancy, police chase/law-enforcement operations, or arts and crafts. The argument is that most of these tend to follow popular trends, and almost all are reality-based in nature, making TLC more about ratings than learning.
Many critics call this "pseudo-educational" programming, and say that while the content may be non-fictional in nature, it is as much entertainment as watching the latest soap opera, and probably with as much intellectual stimulation as well. Programs and showings of true informative nature are nearly non-existent. The focus of what documentary and educational programming remains on TLC, critics argue, is still geared towards human sexuality, beauty, forensics, and other items of
pop culture interest. Shows dealing with history, human civilization, current events, politics, or science not related to either forensic investigations or
pseudoscience are also non-existent. Many would like TLC to officially change its name to something else entirely, rather than continue to claim to be the channel for learning.
To counter the critics, fans and supporters of the new TLC cite the increased ratings of the channel as proof that viewers approve. Though the critics dismiss this as inconsequential, many fans of TLC only watch the channel because they enjoy the current line of programming, and have little concern for its educational value or the meaning of the station's abbreviation. The new viewer-base would likely disappear were TLC to return to its former paradigms, and supporters point out that most of the content that the former viewers want can still be found on other Discovery-owned channels, such as
The Science Channel,
Military Channel and
Discovery Times Channel, as part of the specialization and refocusing of Discovery's more than 15 stations in its channel lineup.
A British version of the channel was launched in the mid-
1990s and was subsequently renamed
Discovery Home and Leisure and later
Discovery Real Time as part of Discovery's
bouquet of themed channels.
*
CNN: When TV network changes name, look close (2003)*
MetaFilter community weblog discussion on TV network name changes*
Official Site
