International Media Distribution

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International Media Distribution
Type Subsidiary of public company
Industry Ethnic media and broadcasting
Founded 1998
Headquarters Centennial, Colorado, United States
Services Broadcasting
Marketing
Parent NBCUniversal
Website www.imediadistribution.com

International Media Distribution (IMD) (formerly International Networks) is a United States media company that markets and distributes international television channels to cable and satellite operators in the US and Canada. It also distributes multi-ethnic television programming to consumers via Video on demand services. International Media Distribution is a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal.

History

Originally launched as International Channel Networks in 1996, the company was owned by Liberty Media and JJS II Communications, LLC. They owned and operated The International Channel or I-Channel, which was a basic cable channel that featured multilingual, multi-ethnic programming to audiences in the United States. The channel offered programming from Europe, Asia & the Middle East in over 25 languages. In 1998, the company began offering a tier of premium networks featuring various channels from around the world. This tier has since grown and currently consists of over 20 networks.

International Channel Networks logo
In July 2004, as part of a larger deal, International Channel Networks was sold to Comcast. In 2005, Comcast re-branded the International Channel as AZN Television, a channel catering to Asian Americans and featuring several original programmes. The company was subsequently renamed International Networks.

On April 9, 2008, AZN television ceased operations as Comcast decided to shut down the channel due to distribution and advertising difficulties.[1]

On March 10, 2009, Comcast decided to rename the company yet again this time as International Media Distribution. The re-brand was undertaken to reflect the growth of the company and to emphasize the focus which is now on the distribution of premium international channels from around the world.[2] In 2011, the company was contributed by Comcast to NBCUniversal, a joint venture of Comcast and General Electric (GE).[3] In 2013, Comcast yet again took full control of International Media Distribution upon purchasing GE's share of NBCUniversal.[4]

Premium Television Networks

Current

International Media Distribution currently distributes 29 networks from around the world, they include:

Arabic

Chinese

Filipino

French

German

Greek

Italian

Japanese

Korean

  • tvK
  • tvK2

Polish

Russian

  • Channel One Russia
  • RTN
  • RTN+

South Asian

Vietnamese

Former

The following channels were distributed by International Networks at one point but are no longer affiliated with the company:

Canales ñ (Package of Spanish channels)

References

  1. ↑ Comcast Pulls Plug on AZN, Broadcasting & Cable, January 28, 2008
  2. ↑ International Networks Is Now International Media Distribution, International Media Distribution, March 10, 2009
  3. ↑ A BIGGER, BOLDER MYX TV, International Media Distribution, April, 11, 2011
  4. ↑ Lieberman, David. "Comcast Completes Acquisition Of GE's 49% Stake In NBCUniversal." Deadline.com (March 19, 2013)

External links

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