[1] It aired independent documentary films [2] from around the world, including those not released in the United States.

It was founded by Tom Neff,[5] Oscar nominated and Emmy winning documentarian, and attorney John Forbess.

DocTalk was a weekly half-hour program featuring filmmakers and their newest documentary film projects and releases.

Documentary Channel built up to the launch of Pivot with a countdown clock in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, where the logo normally is, saying "xx Hours xx Minutes until we Pivot", but there was no special programing taking a look back at the channel's history, instead just showing a normal day of programing.

At 5:58 a.m ET, the channel began playing an old style Indian Head test card, and started playing Edward R. Murrow's "Wires and Lights in a Box" speech, talking about how television can help people learn, but only if they accept it.