Smithsonian Networks
Encyclopedia
Smithsonian Networks is a joint venture between CBS Corporation
's Showtime Networks
and the Smithsonian Institution
. The service consists of Smithsonian Channel, Smithsonian On Demand
, and smithsonianchannel.com.
The network’s content is inspired by the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, research facilities and magazines – and features original non-fiction programming that covers a wide range of historical, scientific and cultural subjects. On September 26, 2007, the Smithsonian Channel HD began airing on DirecTV
's new HD lineup. Dish Network
added the HD channel on May 12, 2008. Dish Network
has since dropped the Smithsonian Channel HD from their programming line up effective February 1, 2009. Dish Network provided no warning to subscribers.
In 2010, Smithsonian Networks entered into an agreement with Comcast for broadcast of the channel until 2020. An initial air date has not been given.
Smithsonian Networks is also available on Time Warner Cable
, AT&T U-verse and Charter Communications
in high definition and standard definition and on Verizon FiOS
and Mediacom
in high definition. It is also available from On Demand
in both high definition and standard definition.
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
's Showtime Networks
Showtime Networks
Showtime Networks, Inc. is the corporate division of media conglomerate CBS Corporation.The company was established in 1983 as Showtime/The Movie Channel, Inc. after Viacom and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment merged their premium channels, Showtime and The Movie Channel respectively, into one...
and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. The service consists of Smithsonian Channel, Smithsonian On Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, and smithsonianchannel.com.
The network’s content is inspired by the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, research facilities and magazines – and features original non-fiction programming that covers a wide range of historical, scientific and cultural subjects. On September 26, 2007, the Smithsonian Channel HD began airing on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
's new HD lineup. Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
added the HD channel on May 12, 2008. Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
has since dropped the Smithsonian Channel HD from their programming line up effective February 1, 2009. Dish Network provided no warning to subscribers.
In 2010, Smithsonian Networks entered into an agreement with Comcast for broadcast of the channel until 2020. An initial air date has not been given.
Smithsonian Networks is also available on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, AT&T U-verse and Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
in high definition and standard definition and on Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
and Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
in high definition. It is also available from On Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
in both high definition and standard definition.
Programming
- Soul Revolution hosted by Morgan FreemanMorgan FreemanMorgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
premiered November 16, 2008. - Season two of Stories from the VaultsStories from the VaultsHosted by actor Tom Cavanagh, Stories from the Vaults is a series of 30-minute shows featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex...
starring Tom CavanaghTom CavanaghThomas "Tom" Cavanagh is a Canadian actor.-Early life:Cavanagh was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He is of Irish descent and was raised in a large Roman Catholic family. Cavanagh moved with his family to Winneba, a small city in Ghana, when he was seven years old. In his teens, the family moved to...
premiered July 12, 2009. - Mystery of the Hope Diamond - On August 19, 2009, the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
announced that the Hope DiamondHope DiamondThe Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
is to get a temporary new setting to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Harry WinstonHarry WinstonHarry Winston was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade, and traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963.-History:...
's donation of the gem stone to the National Museum of Natural History. Starting in September, the 45.52 carats (9.1 g) diamond will be exhibited as a stand-alone gem with no setting. From August 19, 2009 through September 7, 2009, the public is being invited to vote online for their favorite Harry Winston designed setting, at SmithsonianChannel.com/hope. The winning setting will be announced this fall and the gem will be shown in the setting starting in May, along with a Smithsonian Networks documentary. - Soul of a People: Writing America's Story - A National Endowment for the HumanitiesNational Endowment for the HumanitiesThe National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
-funded documentary about the Federal Writers' ProjectFederal Writers' ProjectThe Federal Writers' Project was a United States federal government project to fund written work and support writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program...
featuring interviews with notable project alumni Studs TerkelStuds TerkelLouis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
, Stetson KennedyStetson KennedyWilliam Stetson Kennedy was an American author and human rights activist. One of the pioneer folklore collectors during the first half of the twentieth century, he is remembered for having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s, exposing its secrets to authorities and the outside world...
, and American historian Douglas BrinkleyDouglas BrinkleyDouglas Brinkley is an American author, professor of history at Rice University and a fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair...
. Premiered September 6, 2009.