Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery,stylized and branded on-air asIDsince 2008, is an American multinationalpay televisionnetwork dedicated totrue crime documentariesowned byWarner Bros. Discovery.The network is headquartered inSilver Spring, Maryland.
As of November 2023[update],ID is available to approximately 69,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2015 peak of 86,000,000 households.[2]
History[edit]
20th century[edit]
The channel launched in 1996 under the nameDiscovery Civilization Network: The World History and Geography Channel.It was one of fourdigital cablecompanion networks;Discovery Travel & Living Network,Discovery Science NetworkandDiscovery Kidswere rolled out by Discovery Communications simultaneously in October 1996.[3]Plans for the channel had surfaced in November 1994, when its working name wasTime Traveler.[4]
21st century[edit]
In April 2002,New York TimesTelevision and Discovery Communications announced a joint venture to run theDiscovery Civilization Channel.By then, it was available in 14 million households. The partnership aimed to complement the historical shows, with programming about current events and contemporary history.[5] On March 25, 2003, the channel was rebranded asDiscovery Times,focusing more on theculture of the United States,as well as other miscellaneous programming. The previous name was described as "a little off-message" by executives.[6]
In April 2006,The New York Timessold its stake in Discovery Times back to Discovery Communications, ending its ownership in the channel.[7]Despite this, "Times" was kept in the channel's name until January 27, 2008, when Discovery Times was relaunched as Investigation Discovery (ID), oriented towardstrue crimeprograms.[8]
In 2016, owing to a resurgence in popularity within the true crime genre, ID was the second-highest-rated cable network among women 25–54.[9]In 2018, ID was the sixth-highest-rated basic cable network in full-day viewership.[10]
On April 12, 2020, Investigation Discovery introduced a new logo, placing a greater focus on the "ID" initialism to make it better-suited for multi-platform use.[11]
In December 2022, the team responsible for ID also took over responsibility forHLN,formerlyCNNHeadline News, which became a sibling channel following the merger that formedWarner Bros. Discoveryearlier that year. That channel had gradually shifted to a similar true crime-focused format since the mid-2010s, dropping its last original news programs at the same time as the management change, and had already begun airing repeats of ID programming such asHometown Homicideshortly after the WBD merger.[12]
Programming[edit]
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Most of ID's programs are original productions, but it also airs re-titled off-network reruns, includingABC's20/20,CBS'48 Hours,andNBC’sDateline.
ID's longest-running series isOn the Case with Paula Zahnwhich debuted in 2009. Other long-running shows on the network includeDisappearedandHomicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda.
On June 7, 2015, ID aired its first ever scripted mini-series;Serial Thriller: Angel of Decaychronicled the investigation of convicted (and later executed) serial killerTed Bundy.A second installment,Serial Thriller: The Chameleon,premiered as a two-part miniseries in December 2015, chronicling the crimes that resulted in theexecutionofAmericanserial killerStephen Morin.A third installment,Serial Thriller: The Headhunter,about serial killerEdmund Kemper(which possibly includes the story of serial killerHerbert Mullin), premiered on February 20, 2016.
International versions[edit]
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2023) |
- Canada
- Europe
- Latin America
- India(Asia Pacific) (Closed on February 1, 2018, relaunched on January 13, 2020)
- Australia and New Zealand
- France (as Discovery Investigation)
- Russia (Closed on March 9, 2022)[13]
- South Africa
- Vietnam (2005-2007)
References[edit]
- ^Investigation Discoveryat CBInsights
- ^"U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023".wrestlenomics.May 14, 2024.RetrievedJuly 28,2019.
- ^Kirchdoerffer, Ed (April 1, 1999)."Digital Play in the U.S. of A."Realscreen.Archivedfrom the original on April 20, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 17,2023.
Discovery was the first non-fiction channel to embrace digital cable services. Home & Leisure, Science, Civilization, and Kids launched in October 1996.
- ^"Discovery plans launch of four newly created nets. (Discovery Communications Inc.)".Multichannel News. November 1994.
- ^"The New York Times Company and Discovery Communications, Inc. Announce Joint Venture in Discovery Civilization Channel" (Press release). The New York Times Company. April 5, 2002.
- ^"'Civilization' Seeks Current-Affairs Niche ".Multichannel News. November 4, 2002.
- ^"Discovery Times to Sell Stake".New York Observer. April 13, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 27,2008.
- ^"Discovery Investigates".Newsday.January 26, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon January 29, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 27,2008.
- ^"The Oxygen Channel Is Becoming A True-Crime, All The Time Network".HuffPost.July 6, 2017.RetrievedJuly 20,2017.
- ^"2018 Year-End Cable Ranker: Fox News, MSNBC, Hallmark Channel Are Among Top Networks to Also Post Audience Growth".TVNewser.January 3, 2019.RetrievedJuly 22,2019.
- ^Lafayette, Jon (April 12, 2020)."Investigation Discovery Adopts Updated 'ID'".Broadcasting Cable.RetrievedJanuary 10,2022.
- ^Weprin, Alex (December 1, 2022)."CNN Chief Outlines Cuts: HLN Slashed, International Reorganized," Core "News Product In Focus".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedDecember 6,2022.
- ^"WarnerMedia and Discovery join the stampede of businesses leaving Russia".CNN.March 9, 2022.
External links[edit]
