International Media Distribution (IMD) (formerly International Networks) is a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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

Video on demand

Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content 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

Liberty Media

Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....

 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.

In July 2004, as part of a larger deal, International Channel Networks was sold to Comcast

Comcast

Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...

. In 2005, Comcast re-branded the International Channel as AZN Television

AZN Television

AZN Television promoted itself as "the network for Asian America". It was run by International Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. The channel’s programming targeted the fast-growing, young, affluent, English-speaking Asian American community...

, 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.

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. In 2011, the company was contributed by Comcast to NBCUniversal, a joint venture of Comcast and General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

.

Current

International Media Distribution currently distributes 28 networks from around the world, they include:

• Antenna Satellite
  ANT1
  Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
  
   (Greek)
• ART America
  Arab Radio and Television Network
  Arab Radio and Television Network is an Arabic-language television network characterized by its multitude of channels. It is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The company was founded in October 1993 by Saleh Abdullah Kamel, a Saudi businessman...
  
   (Arabic)
• ATV Home (America)
  Asia Television Limited
  Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
  
   (Chinese)
• CCTV-4
  CCTV-4
  CCTV-4 is the international broadcast for CCTV International in the Mandarin language. It is one of six CCTV channels that broadcasts outside of China, the other five being CCTV News, CCTV-E, CCTV-F, CCTV-Русский and CCTV-العربية....
  
   (Chinese)
• CCTV International
  CCTV-9
  CCTV-9 is the documentary channel of the television network, CCTV in the People's Republic of China. This channel has a local Mandarin Chinese edition called CCTV-9, and an international English language edition called CCTV-9 Documentary. The English edition is carried by more satellites than the...
  
   (Chinese)
• Channel One Russia
  Channel One (Russia)
  Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
  
   (Russian)
• CTi Zhong Tian Channel
  CTi International
  CTi International is a satellite cable channel operated by Chung T'ien Television in Taiwan, but only broadcasts abroad. It is available in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America.-External links:...
  
   (Chinese)
• Deutsche Welle
  Deutsche Welle
  Deutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
  
   (German)
• MYX
  Myx North America
  MYX TV is the only music lifestyle channel embracing the entire Asian America community through music, culture and entertainment after AZN ceased operation...
  
   (Filipino)
• Phoenix North America Chinese Channel
  Phoenix North America Chinese Channel
  Phoenix North America Chinese Channel is one of the five channels that Phoenix Television operates. It was launched on 1 January 2001 in order to serve Chinese viewers in North America, and it is the first Chinese language channel that is available across the continent...
  
   (Chinese)
• Phoenix InfoNews Channel
  Phoenix InfoNews Channel
  Phoenix InfoNews Channel is one of the six channels that Phoenix Television operates. It is the first channel to report news across the Greater China region, which includes Mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong. This channel was established on January 1, 2001, as a 24-hour channel on news...
  
   (Chinese)
• Mediaset Italia
  Mediaset Italia
  Mediaset Italia is an international linguistic and cultural television channel, part of the Italian media company Mediaset. Launched in 2009 with the aim to reach Italian communities worldwide, the channel is the international service of Mediaset and broadcast entertainment programming from Canale...
  
   (Italian)
• Raitalia (Italian)
• RTN (Russian)
• RTN Plus (Russian)
• SBTN
  Saigon Broadcasting Television Network
  Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, abbreviated SBTN, is the first 24-hour Vietnamese language channel geared towards the Vietnamese diaspora. It is currently available in the United States on many cable systems as well as through DirecTV. The channel provides children, arts, entertainment,...
  
   (Vietnamese)
• STAR Gold
  STAR Gold
  STAR Gold is a Hindi movie channel that is part of the STAR TV network and is owned by News Corporation. It features a mix of contemporary as well as classic movies from the 1950s to the present time...
  
   (South Asian)
• STAR News
  STAR News
  STAR News is the Hindi language news channel of STAR TV based in Mumbai. The channel is a co-production of STAR Group and ABP Pvt. Ltd...
  
   (South Asian)
• STAR One
  STAR One
  STAR One is an Indian television channel that primarily broadcasts Hindi entertainment based in Mumbai. Launched on 1 November 2004 with its show, Remix, the channel gained in popularity with television shows such as Remix, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Nach Baliye, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai,...
  
   (South Asian)
• STAR Plus
  STAR Plus
  STAR Plus is a Hindi language general entertainment television channel based in India. The channel is part of the STAR TV network's bouquet of channels...
  
   (South Asian)
• STAR Vijay
  STAR Vijay
  STAR Vijay is a popular Indian entertainment channel broadcasting in Tamil. The channel is also available in several other nations as well. The channel is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
  
   (South Asian)
• The Filipino Channel
  The Filipino Channel
  The Filipino Channel is an international television station owned by the Philippine-based multimedia conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The network is currently available in Asia Pacific, Australia, Canada, Europe, Middle East, and the United States. It has over two million subscribers in these...
  
   (Filipino)
• TV Asia
  TV Asia
  "TV Asia" was the first Asian TV channel to be founded in the UK in 1990. It was Europe's first entertainment and information channel for the South Asian community from the Indian subcontinent. TV Asia was conceptualised & founded by Wasim Mehmood and Mohan Thariyan...
  
   (South Asian)
• TV Japan
  TV Japan
  TV Japan is a 24-hour Japanese language television channel geared towards the Japanese diaspora in North America. It is currently the only Japanese TV channel available in the United States and Canada. TV Japan is owned by NHK CosmoMedia America Inc, a company operated by NHK Enterprises- the...
  
   (Japanese)
• TVP Polonia
  TVP Polonia
  TVP Polonia is the international channel of the Telewizja Polska . The channel is co-funded by the TVP and the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and broadcasts from the TVP headquarters in Warsaw...
  
   (Polish)
• TV5MONDE
  TV5MONDE
  TV5MONDE is a global television network, broadcasting several channels of French language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union.-History:...
  
   (French)
• tvK (Korean)
• tvK2 (Korean)

Former

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

• Africa Independent Television
  Africa Independent Television
  Africa Independent Television, also known by its acronym AIT, is a Nigerian satellite television station, a subsidiary of Da'ar Communications plc, available throughout Africa, and via Dish Network to North America...
  
  
• GMA Life TV
  GMA Life TV
  GMA Life TV, incorporated in February 2008 by GMA Network, is an international Filipino television station, and the company's secondary international channel to GMA Pinoy TV.-Background:...
  
   (Filipino)
• GMA Pinoy TV
  GMA Pinoy TV
  GMA Pinoy TV, incorporated in February 2004 by GMA Network and its subsidiaries GMA International & GMA Worldwide and launched in 2005 primarily in Japan and USA, is a 24-hour international Filipino television station. The channel is targeted towards Overseas Filipino and their families in the...
  
   (Filipino)
• ProSiebenSat.1 Welt
  ProSiebenSat.1 Welt
  ProSiebenSat.1 Welt is a German language television channel developed for the North American audiences.The channel offers programming highlights from the German television channels Sat.1, ProSieben, kabel eins and N24, which are owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. The news is specially produced for the...
  
   (German)
• MBC
  Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
  Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...
  
   (Korean)
• Melli TV (Persian)
• NITV (Persian)
• Rang-A-Rang TV (Persian)
• RSN (1-3) (Romanian)
• Scandinavian Channel (defunct)
• Zee TV
  Zee TV
  Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
  
   (South Asian)

Canales ñ (Package of Spanish channels)

• CNN en Español
  CNN en Español
  CNN en Español is CNN's Spanish language news channel. On March 17, 1997, CNN launched CNN en Español, a 24-hour Spanish-language news network for the Hispanic American and United States marketplace.-Mexico programming:...
  
  
• CineLatino
• Discovery en Español
  Discovery en Español
  Discovery en Español is the Spanish language version of the Discovery Channel. It is operated by Discovery Networks International's Latin America division in Miami, Florida....
  
  
• Fox Sports en Español
  Fox Sports en Español
  Fox Deportes is a cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day in Spanish...
  
  
• HTVN
  Hispanic Television Network
  Hispanic Television Network is a defunct family-oriented television network that was once the third-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, after Univision and Telemundo...
  
   (defunct)
• MTV en Español
• Telemundo Internacional
  Telemundo Internacional
  Telemundo Puerto Rico, also known as Telemundo Internacional, is a Latin American cable channel.-Launch:Telemundo Internacional began in December 1994 as Telenoticias, Latin America's second 24-hour news channel that did not broadcast from Latin America...
  
  
• Toon Disney
  Toon Disney
  Toon Disney was an American cable television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. A spinoff of Disney Channel, it mostly aired children's animated series and some live action programming. Its format had similarities to those of Cartoon Network and Nicktoons...
  
  
• TVE Internacional
  TVE Internacional
  TVE Internacional is an internationally-broadcast Spanish language channel run by Spain's national broadcaster, TVE. Programming includes a mix of news, discussion-based programmes and drama and documentaries from TVE's La 1 and La 2 Spanish networks. It was launched in 1989...
  
  
• VH1 Uno
  VH1 Uno
  VH1 Uno was a digital cable and satellite television channel which was a sister channel of VH1...