The channel was founded in 1972 by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and NASA as the Appalachian Community Service Network,[3][4] and was an informative and instructional network focused on providing real education through the medium of television; it was distributed at no cost by NASA satellite.
ACSN was privatized in 1980, and its name was changed to "The Learning Channel" in November of that year, the name was subsequently shortened to "TLC."[5] (NASA immediately launched NASA TV as the ACSN's internal replacement). The channel mostly featured documentary content pertaining to nature, science, history, current events, medicine, technology, cooking, home improvement and other information-based topics.
By the early 1990s, The Learning Channel was a sister channel to the Financial News Network (FNN), which owned 51 percent of the channel with Infotechnology Inc. After FNN went into bankruptcy in 1991, the Discovery Channel's owners went into discussions to purchase The Learning Channel. An agreement was made with FNN and Infotech to buy their shares for $12.75 million. The non-profit Appalachian Community Service Network owned 35 percent of the network, and was also bought out.[6][7]
The Learning Channel continued to focus primarily on instructional and educational programming through much of the 1990s, but began to air shows less focused on education and themed more toward popular consumption and mass marketing; these would be later expanded.
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In 1998, the channel began to distance itself from its original name "The Learning Channel", and instead began to advertise itself only as "TLC". During the period from 1999 to 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 exemplified this new shift in programming towards more mass-appeal shows.
In early March 2008, TLC launched a slightly refreshed look and promotional campaign, alongside a new slogan: "Life surprises". This new slogan came as TLC began to shift even more to personal stories, with a shift away from the once-dominating home improvement shows. Programs focused on family life became the core of the channel. Jon & Kate Plus 8, which by 2008 was the highest-rated program on TLC,[8] and Little People, Big World were joined by 17 Kids and Counting (which became 18 Kids and Counting and then 19 Kids and Counting as the Duggars, the family that the series centers on, expanded), and Table for 12 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Also premiering on TLC in 2009 was Cake Boss, which focuses on the head baker at Carlo's Bakery and his staff, who mostly consist of his family.
The series Toddlers & Tiaras also debuted in 2008, and proved popular enough to spawn a spin-off in 2012, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, focusing on the family life of recurring contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson.
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