They were one of the first companies to be active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga, and manhwa titles in North America, notably helping to make hentai popular in the region.

Over its history, the company licensed several popular titles, such as Slayers, Revolutionary Girl Utena, the Tokyo Babylon OVAs, Project A-ko, and Demon City Shinjuku.

While a majority of their divisions handled anime and manga distribution, they also offered anime-related software and ran a website for UFO conspiracy theorists.

CPM Manga also featured adaptations of MD Geist, Armored Trooper Votoms, and Project A-ko by American writers and artists.

[8] Through its history, the company has employed numerous figures in the video retail industry like Steven Kramer,[9] Peter Castro,[10] and Tom Reilly.

[11] On May 26, 2006, Central Park Media laid off many of its employees, and rumors erupted that the company was planning to declare bankruptcy, supported by a statement from a representative at the convention Anime Boston.

The following Monday, the company's managing director issued a statement acknowledging the lay-offs and attributing the cost-cutting to creditor problems following the January bankruptcy of the Musicland group.

[13] On March 19, 2007, Japanese yaoi publisher Libre posted a notice on its website saying that CPM's Be Beautiful division was illegally translating and selling its properties.

[16] Right up until their bankruptcy, CPM still licensed their anime titles for North American television and VOD distribution, despite having not released anything on home video for over a year.

Central Park Media was a key player in popularizing anime, with numerous firsts and promotions designed to introduce various works to American viewers.

[22] In 2002, the first instance of an anime having the storyboards as an alternate viewing option was released on the Collectors Edition of Grave of the Fireflies, more than 2,700 hand drawings synced to the audio tracks.

[8] In 2004, Central Park Media introduced Korean animation works into America after the success of the Animatrix, Aeon Flux, and Cubix with the release of Doggy Poo.

[32] US Manga Corps was the main anime distribution division for Central Park Media, catering to middle/high school students and older audiences.

On March 19, 2007, Japanese yaoi publisher Libre announced that Be Beautiful Manga was illegally translating and selling their properties to their original owners.

[48] Releases are only listed if the subtitling, dubbing, or other production work was handled by Central Park Media; rather than being licensed from prior versions.