That makes the network’s executives a subject of both envy and sympathy in the television business. They swiftly took History from top 20 status on cable to top five, a feat rarely if ever accomplished — and now they have to keep it there.
“This is going to be a dance with the big boys,” said Nancy Dubuc, the general manager of the channel, in an interview.
The final ratings for 2011 will show that History, a unit of A + E Networks, attracted more middle-aged men than any other cable channel except ESPN. Among all prime-time viewers, History was No. 5 on cable this year, up from No. 8 last year. The four bigger channels are USA, the Disney Channel, TNT and ESPN.
Unlike USA and TNT, History has no scripted drama. Unlike ESPN, it has no football or basketball. What History has is reality TV — and its success also attests to the success of documentary-style dramas and competitions featuring average people.
Its biggest show for the last two years has been “Pawn Stars,” about a family that buys and sells watches, necklaces and artifacts. Just last week, History scheduled a spinoff, “Cajun Pawn Stars.” But the channel is also considering shows that may seem suited for TNT or even ESPN, like a “Hatfields and McCoys” mini-series and a jousting competition. The goal, it seems, is to steal market share from the other big boys.
History has been able to declare its “best year ever” for five years in a row because it took what could be seen as a radical turn away from its brand nearly five years ago.
Originally a child of the AE channel, History was known for World War II specials and documentary series like “Modern Marvels” when Ms. Dubuc arrived from AE in January 2007. “We said to ourselves, we have to create appointment viewing TV,” she said. Six months later, an old episode of “Modern Marvels” about truck drivers became a series, “Ice Road Truckers,” and set ratings records for the channel.
“Ice Road Truckers” gave confidence to the History staff and gave a signal to viewers and would-be producers that the channel was changing into something new and more explicitly entertaining. The channel’s slogan became “History Made Every Day.” For all the jokes about History ignoring the past, it worked. More men turn to the channel for what Ms. Dubuc sometimes calls “their version of romance television,” and more advertisers, too.
“We started to show that History was a great alternative to sports in attracting upscale men,” said her boss and mentor, Abbe Raven, the chief executive of A + E Networks. As advertising buyers spent more on History, “we took those revenues and invested them in programming to build the future.”
The series “Pawn Stars” and “Swamp People,” about alligator hunters in Louisiana, started in 2009 and 2010, respectively, giving the channel its giant growth spurts. This fall, when Michael Nathanson, a media analyst for Nomura Equity Research, wanted to tease out trends in cable viewing, he compared the 2007-8 season with the 2010-11 season and discovered that History had gained more ratings ground than any other single channel.
“Go figure,” Mr. Nathanson wrote in his report. He said the gains were driven “largely by the success of ‘Pawn Stars,’ ” which regularly drew more than five million viewers this year.
“This proves to us the power of one hit show and how it can transform a network,” he added.
History executives contend that the ratings gains are because of not one show but many, including history specials like “Gettysburg” and “Vietnam in HD” (yes, there is still some literal history on History) and reality competition shows like “Top Shot.” But they acknowledge that they need to breed new hits as “Pawn Stars” inevitably starts to fade.
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