Disclosed is an apparatus comprising a network element (NE) configured to receive an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) data packet in Internet Protocol version four (IPv4) format, translate the data packet into an Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) data packet in Internet Protocol version six (IPv6) format, and forward the translated data packet. Also disclosed is an apparatus comprising a NE configured to receive an MLD data packet in IPv6 format, and translate the data packet into an IGMP data packet in IPv4 format. Also disclosed is a method comprising receiving a plurality of data packets, wherein the plurality of data packets comprise IGMP data packets and MLD data packets, translating at least one of the IGMP data packets into a MLD data packet, and translating at least one of the MLD data packets into an IGMP data packet.