Friday, December 8th, 2006
National Geographic Channel (NGC) UK and Europe has announced the launch of Nat Geo Wild a brand new channel dedicated to the best in wildlife programming, offering a unique insight into the natural world, the environment and the incredible creatures that inhabit it.
Available for the first time from Thursday 1 March 2007, Nat Geo Wild will be broadcast in the UK on the Sky and ntl/Telewest platforms. At launch, the 18-hour channel will be available in some 12 million contracted homes throughout the UK and selected platforms across Europe, Israel and South Africa, with further expansion expected later in 2007. On UK platforms, the new channel replaces Adventure One.
The core channel will continue to expand its successful contemporary science, history and technology strands and will be clearly differentiated from Nat Geo Wild. The main National Geographic Channel has seen strong ratings growth year on year, with an increase of 20% in the past 12 months.
Managing Director NGC UK and Europe, George Jeffrey, says Nat Geo Wild allows us to expand our commitment to quality wildlife and natural world programming to create a specialist channel on the genres at the very heart of our brand. We are famous for our commitment to the natural world and now that programming can get the space it deserves. The time is right to launch this new channel that will cater to the growing public appetite for wildlife and environmental programming.
Nat Geo Wild programming will come from a variety of sources including co-productions and acquisitions with UK independent producers, European distributors, and National Geographic Television (NGT) as well as from co-productions with UK terrestrial broadcasters.
Viewers will also be able to experience Nat Geo Wild via an array of new media platforms including mobile TV, broadband and podcasts.
(Source: National Geographic)
Nat Geo Wild preview website
