UKTV Documentary was launched on 8th March 2004. Along with UKTV People it was a replacement for the channel UK Horizons, which closed the day before. The channel is a member of the UKTV network of channels.
The channel, along with a time-shifted "+1" version, is available on Satellite (BSkyB) and Cable platforms.
The output of the channel is, as the name suggests, entirely documentaries, mainly taken from the BBC archives such as Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man. However, the majority of the channel's programming is abridged by the BBC for commercial timing purposes - a policy that some critics consider hypocritical.
