• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 4, 2008

Almost a year after its domestic rebrand, Discovery Communications is taking its Investigation Discovery network to the UK. The move is another step in the company's efforts to expand international distribution under CEO David Zaslav.

While Discovery networks have wide reach--in 170 countries and 35 languages--the UK launch in January marks a first for Investigation Discovery outside the U.S.

Investigation Discovery, or ID, was the Discovery Times Channel until last January. The reality series focuses on the criminal-justice genre. Shows include "Call 911" and "Dateline on ID."

In the UK, the network, in partnership with a local production company, will offer a nine-part series about "some of the world's most infamous killers."

"International consumer interest in investigative programming is robust and growing," said Greg Ricca, president-CEO, Discovery Networks International. "Investigation Discovery will strengthen our best-in-class portfolio of international networks ..."

Still, ad sales in the UK are slowing compared to other markets. In the recent third quarter, Discovery said ad dollars in the UK were down compared to the same period a year ago, although the company indicated that a contract issue played a role.

The decline in the UK was enough to lead to non-U.S. ad dollars being flat in the third quarter at $83 million. However, the bulk of international revenues come from subscriber fees, which increased 22% to $188 million.

The company did indicate that the UK market remains ripe for the sale of programming that Discovery produces.