Washington, D.C., and New York, July 14, 1998
Two of the strongest producers of natural history programming have forged a new strategic partnership to develop and produce programs for public television, as well as for global distribution.
Thirteen/WNET’s NATURE, one of the highest-rated prime-time series on PBS, and National Geographic Television (NGT Inc.), one of the largest producers of documentary programming in the world, will coproduce programming under the NATURE banner in the U.S. All the programs produced under the partnership will be distributed internationally through Explore International, a joint venture of National Geographic Television and Canal Plus in France.
At a time when natural history programming is growing in popularity both domestically
and internationally, NATURE and NGT are joining forces to take new advantage of their
well-established production expertise. The partnership is planning six programs that
National Geographic Television will coproduce with WNET for broadcast as part of the
NATURE series.
In addition to the programming for the NATURE series, the new alliance is also exploring several multi-part series and specials for PBS in topics traditionally covered by National Geographic Television (adventure, science, and human interest).
Tamara Robinson, Vice President and Director of National Programming at Thirteen/WNET, said, “National Geographic Television is recognized around the world as a giant in high-quality documentary programming and has set the standard for this genre of programming over the past 30 years. NATURE is a signature PBS series celebrating its
16th anniversary this year. The National Geographic Television and Thirteen/WNET
NATURE partnership will create a powerful synergy that we have only just begun to
explore.”
Andrew C. Wilk, Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for National Geographic Television, said, “With their extraordinary commitment to this programming field, Thirteen/WNET’s NATURE is an ideal partner for National Geographic Television in the natural history arena. Our collaboration will attract the best talent to some of the most exciting natural science programming on television today.”
The production alliance will be managed by Fred Kaufman, who is director of natural history programs at WNET, and Keenan Smart, head of National Geographic Television’s Natural History Unit. Christine Weber, senior producer of special projects at NGT, will oversee the day-to-day management of the programs.
Fred Kaufman, who is a NATURE executive producer, has been associated with the series since its inception and assumed his current role in 1991. He is an executive producer of the PBS series In the Wild, now beginning its third season and is the creator and executive producer of Wild TV, a children’s NATURE series in development. WNET’s science, natural history, and features unit is headed up by William Grant.
Keenan Smart, executive producer for the Natural History Unit of National Geographic Television, is responsible for the creation and supervision of all natural history productions for National Geographic Television and oversees the NHU’s own team of scientists and area specialists with connections to the best scientists and filmmakers around the world.
Hosted by George Page, NATURE premiered in October 1982 and has gone on to win some 100 awards from around the world, including 4 Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award, the Genesis Award, the Parent’s Choice TV Award, and the Sierra Club’s Centennial Year Award. Major funding for NATURE is made possible in part by Park Foundation. Major corporate support is provided by Canon U. S. A., Inc., Ford Motor Company, and TIAA-CREF. Additional support is provided by the nation’s public television stations.
WNET is the flagship PBS station broadcasting to almost twenty million people each week and producing approximately one-third of the national programming on public television. In the 1995-96 broadcast season, Thirteen/WNET produced eight of the top ten ranked primetime programs on PBS. In addition to producing such science, natural history, and travel series as In the Wild, Innovation, and Going Places, WNET also produces PBS series and specials, including Great Performances, American Masters, and In the Spotlight. Thirteen/WNET programs are also widely used in schools and universities around the country.
National Geographic Television programs have won more than 800 industry awards, including 85 Emmys, 4 Peabody Awards, and 29 awards from the two most prestigious
natural history filmmaking festivals: Wildscreen in the U.K. and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in the U.S. Eighteen of the top 25 programs ever aired on PBS are
National Geographic Specials, including 1982’s “The Sharks,” which broke all ratings records on PBS and proved that documentaries could compete successfully in prime time.
Building on its reputation for remarkably visual and adventurous storytelling, National Geographic Television augments its award-winning documentary production with new children’s, prime-time drama, large-format, and feature film programming, as well as international broadcast and video distribution. NGT’s business enterprise with NBC has resulted in the development of National Geographic Channels Worldwide, which launched with local partners throughout the global marketplace, beginning with BSkyB in the U.K., Ireland, Scandinavia, Finland, and Australia. At present, NGT’s programming can be seen in the U.S. on NBC, TBS Superstation, and PBS, as well as through syndication and home video, and internationally through more than 100 different outlets in some 90 territories worldwide.
Contact:
Alice Newcomb-Doyle, LVM Group, Inc.,
+1 212 751 2800
Melissa Montefiore, NGT
+1 202 857 7627
Bob Rumerman, LVM Group, Inc.
+1 212 751 2800
Ellen Stanley, NGT
+1 202 775 6755
Kathryn Perry, WNET
+1 212 560 3026
