TLC

[carolinaradio]

OK, I'll admit I'm a sucker for some of their shows, but what exactly is the focus of this channel and who are they targeting? I remember that they were one of the first cable channels to "jump the shark", so to speak. They have such a bizarre mix of programming. A lot of their shows seem geared to young females ("Big Fat Ameican Gypsy Wedding", "Say Yes To The Dress", "What Not To Wear") but then they throw odd programs about people in prison, "48 Hours", and their recent addition "Tattoo School" in to the mix. Oh, don't forget "Toddlers and Tiaras", the ill-fated "All-American Muslim", and "American Chopper's" brief stint there. I noticed that they had the religious-based "Sister Wives" on Sunday night then went right in to the "Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" which was bleeping every other word out. The morning line-up consists of baby and child-centered programming.

I like some of their shows like "My Strange Addiction", "My Crazy Obsession", 'Hoarding', "Extreme Couponing", "Undercover Boss", "On The Fly", and "Cake Boss" - but the whole channel seems to lack any coherence or direction. I think the wedding and fashion shows really throw it off.

 

[sandiegoinexile]

NBC shows all types of programs, from news to sports to drama to comedy (well, sort of) to variety. CBS shows all types of programs, as do FOX and PBS and ABC. And, at this point, nearly all cable channels broadcast all sorts of programming.

Cable began with a handful of niche channels. That was how viewers saw the expanded TV universe. CNN showed news. MTV showed videos. ESPN carried sports. That world (circa 1985) is gone. Now it's all about the demo. All those TLC shows are targeted to females 25-49.

Few born after 1985 distinguish "broadcast" vs "cable". Everything is the same to them. MTV isn't music videos to them, it's a general entertainment network with reality, celebrity interviews, dramas, comedies, award shows, and interview programs. TLC isn't about "learning"; it's a general entertainment network with reality programming, features, and extreme couponing, all of which are of interest to females 25-49.

 

[Mario500]

The name TLC should be changed to something reflecting varieties of programming or else many folks will always think the Learning Channel when they see a logo on a promotional advertisement for TLC.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

The name TLC should be changed to something reflecting varieties of programming or else many folks will always think the Learning Channel when they see a logo on a promotional advertisement for TLC.

I for one, don't...even though I'm old enough to remember when it was branded as "The Learning Channel" (complete with a tree logo). But, IIRC, that branding and approach only lasted perhaps two years tops (at least, that's how long I recall it airing on my hometown cable system), before adopting the shortened "TLC" and programming more toward general entertainment (outside daytime, which originally carried shows similar to what's on "Nick Jr"), though with an "educational" undercurrent. To be honest, outside a couple programs (they did a Hollywood Special Effects show on the weekends I thought was pretty good...and "The Surgery" was occasionally interesting) there wasn't much to offer.

So, from what I remember the network has always had a problem defining itself.

Prior to their first real break-out hit "Trading Spaces," an old roommate and I used to jokingly call it the "Death and Dismemberment Channel" because they were heavy with Emergency Room reality programming and "Seconds From Disaster" (which, last I saw was on NatGeo) reenacted docu-dramas among others similar programming.

Then they rode the "Trading Spaces" popularity wave with tons of home make-over shows for a good number of years.

When that began to fizzle, it was the self-makeover programming, starting with "What Not To Wear," and it's many knock-offs.

The last 2 or 3 years a lot of their programming has consisted of A&E ripoffs and "Toddler's" crap.

In a lot of ways, I'm glad I don't have cable anymore.

 

[recto101]

ESPN is probably one of a few cable networks from 30 years ago that stayed the same and probably some of the Local Cable Sports Networks. I do know that NY1 the all-news cable network in NYC stayed the same too.

I remember The Learning Channel when they were more like today's National Geographic Channel and when Discovery Channel was more like Animal Planet, Travel Channel and Nat Geo Wild was in the 1990's. I remember when the History Channel actually talked about Major events but now they evolved to selling shows that target Spike's audience.

TLC today is basically MTV's reality shows with Parents who act like jerks with babies in the picture. Or parents that want their Children to be the next "Kardashians". I remember back in the 1990's Kardashian was associated with the OJ Simpson trial and when Harvey Levin was a local reporter on KCBS2 doing investigative stories on all the lawyers, witnesses, police and of course OJ in that case.

 

[milwaukee_dave]

TLC's general entertainment shift seemed to begin around 1991 when Discovery Communications purchased the channel -- granted, it was slow at first. In the 1980s, The Learning Channel was owned by a consortium of companies, including the Financial News Network (FNN), Infotechnology Inc. and the nonprofit Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN). Together, the three entities seemed interested in providing some educational component throughout the channel's schedule, whether it be through course credit or merely personal enrichment.

TLC's origins go way back to 1974. A NASA satellite was used to deliver education and health information to educators. It was experimental at the time; by the late 1970s, ACSN began linking up with cable systems as more people piped the evolving technology into their homes.

At some point in the 1980s, FNN and Infotechnology joined forces with ACSN in funding and programming TLC. But that all came crashing down in 1991 as FNN and Infotechnology bled money and filed for bankruptcy. Discovery swooped in and purchased TLC. As I recall, the "Learning Channel" moniker remained for a while after Discovery's purchase. As is the case with so many cable channels, however, the initials took control as time went on.

For anyone interested, here's a link to a 1982 publication on the very, very early days of TLC: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED238398.pdf

Also, I posted a link to this in a different thread a week or so ago, but here's a You Tube video from 1985, when TLC shared transponder space with the Home Theater Network, a now-defunct premium channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3C1BWE3a4

Yes, this is archaic stuff and the industry has evolved. Time has moved on, and we can't go back. But it's still interesting to look back and see how it all started.

 

[crainbebo]

TLC had educational programming until about 1999 or 2000. Then the crap took over, A Baby Story started, Trading Spaces started, later What Not to Wear, etc. There is NO meaning for TLC anymore.

-crainbebo