Abbe Raven and Steve Ronson

TV Real Weekly, November 12 2008

Abbe Raven

President and CEO, AETN

Steve Ronson

Executive VP of Enterprises, AETN

History was made last week with the election of Barack Obama, the first African American to become president of the United States. And while the media is full of head bites about the significance of the moment, and the importance of where we come from, where we are going and how the past influences the present, these types of reflections are the mainstay of the History channel.

Launched in the U.S. in 1995, the cable service owned and operated by A&E Television Networks (AETN) has been providing its loyal viewers with perspective on a wide range of historical events, from antiquity to not-so-long ago. Alongside signature specials, such as 102 Minutes That Changed America, a moving documentary about the terrorist attacks on 9/11 stitched together with never-before-seen video shot by eyewitnesses to the day’s catastrophic events, are ongoing popular series like Cities of the Underworld, Ice Road Truckers and The Universe.

Another treasure trove for history lovers is the channel’s website. Beefing up history.com has been a top priority for Abbe Raven, AETN’s president and CEO. “We want to get viewers engaged with history in an exciting and entertaining way,” she says.

If you want more information about 102 Minutes That Changed America, you can find interactive maps of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, view the videos and relive that tragic day. On a lighter note, you can bone up on “This Day in History,” which offers facts on all sorts of subjects, from the American Revolution to the Cold War, from crime to entertainment, and from presidents to sports. Given that this has been an election year, there is a wealth of information about American presidents, but also step-by-step guides to building everyday items from the ancient world. There are also history games and DVDs for sale.

Raven wants History.com to be a valuable resource for history lovers as well as for students. A recent development toward this end is the agreement between AETN and The Library of Congress. “We have a relationship with the Library of Congress, which is the largest holder of archive material in the world. It is heavily digitized and served up on history.com.” When The Library of Congress was looking for a partner to help disseminate its wealth of content to a broad audience on a variety of platforms, it turned to History channel first, explains Raven.

“We want to broaden the approach of history without compromising the brand or alienating core viewers, who have totally embraced the experience of the brand,” she adds. “We want to introduce young people to history online by offering entertaining video with cool technology wrapped around. Our goal is to be the archivist of history on every medium. Today we are seeing that come to fruition.”

And the History channel is not limited to the U.S. It is part of a bouquet of channels—History, The Biography Channel, Crime & Investigation Network, Military History, and three HD channels: History HD, BIO HD and Crime & Investigation Network HD—currently in over 140 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including Japan, reaching more than 230 million TV households in 24-plus languages.

Steve Ronson, the executive VP of enterprises at AETN, manages AETN International, AETN Consumer Products, and the Interactive Services Group, which includes broadband video, short-form syndication and wireless activities. He spearheaded the launch of Crime & Investigation Network and is now looking to spread the reach of the channels and their websites.

“We’ve added 17 channels in the past two years,” says Ronson. “In 2010 we’ll hit our goal of doubling the numbers of channels we have. We want to have six to seven channels per territory.”

There is currently great demand for HD channels among international cable and satellite operators, and broadcasters around the world are asking for programming in HD. AETN serves both groups of clients, with full-fledge channels and with a library of programs.

VOD is also a growing business for AETN. “We have VOD deals in several of the large territories,” says Raven. “VOD helps round out the portfolio and helps consumers get in touch with the brand.”

Both Raven and Ronson keep a close eye on the company’s international businesses. “International continues to grow and fuel AETN. It has reached double-digit growth and we’re optimistic about the prospects for the future,” says Ronson.

History, biography, crime and the related topics that AETN offers are of universal appeal as aficionados around the globe continue to examine the past to help understand the present.