Smithsonian Channel

The Smithsonian Channel is an American cable television channel owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilities and magazines. The channel features original non-fiction programming that covers a wide range of historical, scientific, and cultural subjects. As of February 2015, approximately 33.6 million American households (28.9% of those with televisions) receive Smithsonian Channel. It is also available as a video on demand service, depending on the service provider, and in various Internet streaming and download formats. The channel was launched as a joint venture of Showtime Networks and the Smithsonian Institution as Smithsonian On Demand in 2006, and later became Smithsonian Channel in 2007. Smithsonian Channel Plus, a US$5 monthly subscription also offering access to the channel's past content library, and incorporating the former Smithsonian Earth streaming service, was launched in 2018. As of the fall of 2020, it was merged into CBS All Access (later renamed Paramount+). As of December 2023, Smithsonian Channel is available to approximately 39,000,000 pay television households in the United States.