Investigation Discovery

History

20th century

The channel launched in 1996 under the name Discovery Civilization Network: The World History and Geography Channel. It was one of four digital cable companion networks; Discovery Travel & Living Network (now Destination America), Discovery Science Network (now Science Channel) and Discovery Kids (now Discovery Family, which has been a joint venture with Hasbro since 2010) were rolled out by Discovery Communications simultaneously in October 1996. Plans for the channel had surfaced in November 1994, when its working name was Time Traveler.

21st century

In April 2002, The New York Times Company and Discovery Communications announced a joint venture to run the Discovery 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.On March 25, 2003, the channel was rebranded as Discovery Times, focusing more on the culture of the United States, as well as other miscellaneous programming. The previous name was described as "a little off-message" by executives.

In April 2006, The New York Times sold its stake in Discovery Times back to Discovery Communications, ending its ownership in the channel. Despite the sale of the Times stake in the channel, the "Times" was kept in the name until January 27, 2008 when the network was rebranded as Investigation Discovery (ID), shifting its programming focus on true crime documentaries.

In 2016, owing to a growth in popularity in true crime among the demographic, ID was the second-highest-rated cable network among women 25–54. In 2018, ID was the sixth-highest-rated basic cable network in full-day viewership.

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.

In December 2022, the team responsible for ID also took over responsibility for HLN, which became a sibling channel following the merger of Discovery, Inc. with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery earlier that year. That channel had gradually shifted to a similar true crime-focused format since the mid-2010s after having primarily been a rolling news sister channel to CNN, dropping its last original news programs at the same time as the management change, and had already begun airing repeats of ID programming such as Hometown Homicide shortly after the WBD merger.

Programming

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Investigation Discovery

Most of ID's programs are original productions, but it also airs re-titled off-network reruns, including ABC's 20/20, CBS' 48 Hours, and NBC’s Dateline.

ID's longest-running series is On the Case with Paula Zahn which debuted in 2009. Other long-running shows on the network include Disappeared and Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda.

On June 7, 2015, ID aired its first ever scripted mini-series; Serial Thriller: Angel of Decay chronicled the investigation of convicted (and later executed) serial killer Ted Bundy. A second installment, Serial Thriller: The Chameleon, premiered as a two-part miniseries in December 2015, chronicling the crimes that resulted in the execution of American serial killer Stephen Morin. A third installment, Serial Thriller: The Headhunter, about serial killer Edmund Kemper (which possibly includes the story of serial killer Herbert Mullin), premiered on February 20, 2016.

International versions

• Canada (Rogers Media-operated; since January 1, 2025)
• Europe
• Latin America
• India (Asia Pacific) (Closed on February 1, 2018, relaunched on January 13, 2020)
• Australia and New Zealand
• France (as Discovery Investigation)
• Italy
• South Africa
• Vietnam (2005–2007)

Former

• Russia (closed on March 9, 2022)
• Canada (Bell Media-operated; formerly Court TV Canada; relaunched as Oxygen on January 1, 2025)

References

References

1. [https://www.cbinsights.com/company/investigation-discovery ''Investigation Discovery''] at CBInsights
2. (May 14, 2024). "U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023".
3. Kirchdoerffer, Ed. (1999-04-01). "Digital Play in the U.S. of A.".
4. (November 21, 1994). "Discovery plans launch of four newly created nets". Multichannel News.
5. (April 5, 2002). "The New York Times Company and Discovery Communications, Inc. Announce Joint Venture in Discovery Civilization Channel". The New York Times Company.
6. (November 4, 2002). "'Civilization' Seeks Current-Affairs Niche". Multichannel News.
7. (January 26, 2008). "Discovery Investigates". [[Newsday]].
8. Beckerpublished, Anne. (2007-11-27). "Discovery Renames Discovery Times Channel as Investigation Discovery".
9. (2017-07-06). "The Oxygen Channel Is Becoming A True-Crime, All The Time Network". HuffPost.
10. (January 3, 2019). "2018 Year-End Cable Ranker: Fox News, MSNBC, Hallmark Channel Are Among Top Networks to Also Post Audience Growth".
11. Lafayette, Jon. (2020-04-12). "Investigation Discovery Adopts Updated 'ID'".
12. Stelter, Brian. (2022-04-08). "Discovery takes control of HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros., creating new media giant".
13. Weprin, Alex. (December 1, 2022). "CNN Chief Outlines Cuts: HLN Slashed, International Reorganized, "Core" News Product In Focus". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
14. Pedersen, Erik. (2015-05-22). "‘Serial Thriller’ Trailer: ID’s First Original Scripted Drama Tracks A Sadistic Killer".
15. (March 9, 2022). "WarnerMedia and Discovery join the stampede of businesses leaving Russia".