History Channel--a Guy Thing

The History Channel, part of A&E; Networks in New York, is a favorite of male viewers. With programs on war, raids, suicide missions and military blunders, crimes and trials and the FBI, guns and bridges, architecture and engineering, cars and motorcycles and trucks, it’s a major Guy Channel.

According to Abbe L. Raven, History’s vice president and general manager, the channel’s viewership is 70% male.

“Female viewers tend to come along with husbands or boyfriends,” she said. With a laugh, she added: “Women come up and tell me, ‘You’ve ruined my marriage!’ Someone said there has not been anything that caused more disruption in a marriage since the remote control.”

Raven, a former theater stage manager and high school teacher who is married and has a teenage son, is responsible for History’s programming.

She’s also in charge of History’s marketing, publicity, community relations, educational outreach and brand development and oversees day-to-day operations of the network.

A former vice president of A&E; Network, she has been with the History Channel since its launch six years ago.

Last year, the network’s audience grew by a prime-time average of 14%, and now shares 10th place among cable channels with MTV and Sci Fi Channel. Its ad revenue, $42 million in 1998, is projected to top $100 million this year.

“Almost 95% of our programming is original material that we commission or produce ourselves,” she said.

“That has changed over the years since we began the network. Even if we commission it, it is a History Channel production, and we supervise all aspects of it--it really becomes our vision.

“And we have an in-house unit that produces documentaries, HTV Productions, right here.”

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History also contracts with a stable of documentarians for programs in their areas of expertise. Most are in Washington, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, she said.

“We also do some co-productions and acquisition with worldwide partners, with [Britain’s] BBC and GBS in Germany,” she said.

“What we do is re-narrate it and Americanize the script.”

Although History draws mainly men, Raven is proud that in 1999 the channel won the Accolade Award from Women in Cable & Telecommunications for “Mercury 13: The Secret Astronauts.” She described the winning show as “a documentary about women who were trained as astronauts but were not allowed to continue because they couldn’t get the flight time.”

Two years ago, History began presenting the Harry Award (named for the historian Herodotus) for movies that contributed the most to the public’s understanding and appreciation of history.

The first winner was “Saving Private Ryan,” the second “Ride With the Devil” and the third, selected by a studio audience in March, was “The Patriot.”

On Aug. 7, History Channel turned its popular periodic specials “History vs. Hollywood” into a weekly series. The show compares the movie dramatization of an event with the facts. “Every week we’ll be looking at a movie--first, classic movies--and how true they are,” said Raven.

Raven acknowledged that many people naively accept portrayals in movies and television as historically accurate.

“But our historians say that if they can get someone slightly interested in history, get them to think about it, then it’s the job of the History Channel to give them the real story.”