A Network to Make an Environmental Point - NY Times 060208

"But some of Planet Green’s advertisers could raise eyebrows. General Motors, maker of the Hummer, is the “exclusive automobile sponsor” of the channel, Discovery announced last month. G.M.’s Chevrolet brand is a “premier sponsor” of “Greensburg,” a documentary series about a tornado-damaged town that is rebuilding with an eye to the environment. As part of the deal, G.M. vehicles will be integrated into some programs, and Discovery will produce short-form videos about the company."

What's there to say? RK

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/media/02adcol.html?sq=environmental%20point&st=nyt&scp=1&pagewanted=print

June 2, 2008
Advertising
A Network to Make an Environmental Point
By BRIAN STELTER
CAN the environment make for entertaining TV? Discovery Communications is about to find out.

On Wednesday, Discovery will introduce Planet Green, a new cable brand promoted as the first 24-hour channel dedicated to eco-friendly living. It is the highest-profile cable channel introduction of the year, and an equally risky one. By wrapping itself in the planet, Discovery is betting that “eco-tainment” will appeal to viewers.

Planet Green will replace the Discovery Home Channel in more than 50 million homes. Eyeing the public’s increased interest in environmental issues, Discovery is confident that it can attract more viewers with green-themed programming.

“This is an eco-tainment channel,” said Eileen O’Neill, the general manager of Planet Green. “It’s a lifestyle and entertainment channel that’s designed to activate people in the green space.”

It is also intended to engage advertisers, many of whom have green-themed marketing messages to share with viewers.

“Green is a category companies want to be in,” said Gary Lico, the chief executive of CableU, an online service that analyzes cable networks. “Whether you’re an automaker or a bank or a petroleum company, somewhere in your marketing plan is something referring to the environment.”

But some of Planet Green’s advertisers could raise eyebrows. General Motors, maker of the Hummer, is the “exclusive automobile sponsor” of the channel, Discovery announced last month. G.M.’s Chevrolet brand is a “premier sponsor” of “Greensburg,” a documentary series about a tornado-damaged town that is rebuilding with an eye to the environment. As part of the deal, G.M. vehicles will be integrated into some programs, and Discovery will produce short-form videos about the company.

Ms. O’Neill said the company has “very thoughtful conversations” with any advertiser who shows an interest in the channel.

“We’re thinking about everyone being better — not necessarily perfect,” Ms. O’Neill said, noting that G.M. sells a number of vehicles that address fuel efficiency or feature hybrid technology.

David M. Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery Communications, added: “If the standard is perfection, we’ll all fail. The journey is to do a little bit better.”

That attitude is in line with the channel’s mission, which is to “take green to the mainstream,” said Tom Carr, the senior vice president for marketing of the channel.

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Discovery’s research, conducted last year, identified 40 percent to 50 percent of the United States population as “armchair environmentalists.” Mr. Carr calls the channel’s target audience “bright greens,” people who are motivated by the idea that they can help the planet.

Several other cable networks introduced green-themed programming last year. HGTV had the debut of “Living With Ed,” a reality show starring Ed Begley Jr. (It is moving to Planet Green.) The Sundance Channel created “The Green,” a weekly environmental series. And Discovery received wide acclaim for the broadcast of the documentary “Planet Earth.” After that program, the network was inundated with viewer requests for more environmental programming, Mr. Zaslav said.

“We’re pressing on the accelerator here,” he said. “We think it has a real chance to be a flagship brand for us.”

But programs that are promoted as being good for you aren’t always good for ratings, Mr. Lico noted. Perhaps that’s why “Compost Tonight” didn’t find a spot on Planet Green.

The channel’s schedule is star-studded, with the celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse hosting a cooking show featuring organic and locally grown foods, and the “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier living a green life. “Hollywood Green,” a weekly entertainment magazine, will showcase earth-conscious celebrities. The other programs will show every shade of green, from “G Word,” a daily series hosted by two news correspondents, to “Wrecklamation,” billed as “recycling on steroids.”

The channel has almost all original programming — partly because there was not an available vault of entertaining environmental programming to tap into. “It’s been challenging at times,” Ms. O’Neill said, “in part because we’ve been educating the production community that may have had certain expectations of what green content is.”

Namely, that it did not star Ludacris and Tommy Lee, at least not until now. On their new show, “Battleground Earth,” the celebrities participate in an eco-friendly reality competition. They were also the headliners of the channel’s premiere party in Los Angeles last week.

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Timed to the switch from Discovery Home to Planet Green, Discovery marketers are conducting “Random Acts of Greenness.” At the Indianapolis 500 last month, they handed out T-shirts and beach balls to consumers who exemplified green living, and sponsored the cleanup day after the race. The giveaways will continue in New York this week.

Similar promotions will occur at Major League Baseball games in Milwaukee; Washington; and San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday. Mr. Zaslav will throw out the first pitch in Washington, and the stadium’s JumboTron will count down to the channel’s 6 p.m. debut. Also that day, all the Discovery cable networks will show green logos.

The New York Post is going green on Wednesday, too: the newspaper will turn its flag green that day and feature advertisements for the channel all week. The newspaper will also give away 250 bicycles with Planet Green branding.

“This is a new genre,” Ms. O’Neill said. “People don’t have any set expectations of what green media is, and we’re defining it — as really funny, engaging, entertaining and definitely credible.”