The Learning Channel
The Learning Channel, a Discovery channel fondly dubbed the acronym shared by tender loving care—TLC—is a network station airing in 93 million homes in the United States and Canada. The Learning Channel, however, is more than a popular culture network striving for high viewer numbers. It is an intentionally high-quality entertainment and information channel that appeals to viewers of all ages and diversities by way of inspirational and useful programming. The infamous reality TV programming is part of The Learning Channel line-up, though used in a more subtle and practical approach and manner: such shows as “Amazing Medical Stories,” “Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills,” and “Diets from Hell,” for example, expose the researched and documented stories of what happens to real people behind the scenes—and what choices they have made, how those choices have impacted their health and well-being, and what results they witnessed and/or experienced. Twenty years in the television programming arena, The Learning Channel features a range of shows that reveal what many of its 93 million viewing households experience daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly themselves, though with a different angle, motivation, or reward system for the show participants than those the audience members might have access to (though they might wish for the outcomes shown): In “Trading Spaces,” for example, neighbors are granted a limited amount of money, time, and access to their next-door neighbors’ home—to one room, specifically—and are encouraged to design, decorate, and display a “winning” makeover of that room. Viewers get a look at