As of November 2023[update], ID is available to approximately 69 million pay television households in the United States-down from its 2015 peak of 86 milion households.[2]
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, Discovery Science Network and Discovery Kids were rolled out by Discovery Communications simultaneously in October 1996.[3] Plans for the channel had surfaced in November 1994, when its working name was Time Traveler.[4]
21st century
In April 2002, New York Times Television 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.[5]
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.[6]
In April 2006, The New York Times sold 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 Early-2008, when Discovery Times was relaunched as Investigation Discovery (ID), oriented towards true crime programs.[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 for HLN, formerly CNN Headline News, which became a sibling channel following the merger that formed Warner Bros. Discovery earlier 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 as Hometown Homicide shortly after the WBD merger.[12]
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.
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 Americanserial killerStephen 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.
^Kirchdoerffer, Ed (April 1, 1999). "Digital Play in the U.S. of A."Realscreen. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023. Discovery was the first non-fiction channel to embrace digital cable services. Home & Leisure, Science, Civilization, and Kids launched in October 1996.
^"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.
