International Media Distribution

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 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]