NGC OKs Eight Shows

Ad-Backed Video Web Site Also in Cable Network’s Plans

By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, May 11, 2007

Las Vegas -- Dwarfism, gigantism and animal intelligence are among the subjects explored as part of National Geographic Channel’s slate of eight original shows, spanning specials and limited series, the network announced at The Cable Show ’07 here earlier this week.

NGC’s new shows include Inside Extraordinary Humans, a four-part series that investigates what makes a human body out of the ordinary and features looks at dwarfism and gigantism. Produced by Authentic Entertainment, the Science of Dwarfism and Science of Gigantism installments will begin airing in July.

In August, NGC will take viewers on the Road to War, which takes a comprehensive look at how and why the United States went to war in Iraq via interviews with key decision-makers, including former White House chief of staff Andy Card, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and special assistant to the president David Frum, among others.

Animal Genius, a three-episode series, uncovers the hidden intelligence and cognitive capabilities of dogs, pigs and snakes. National Geographic Television is the producer of these specials, the first of which, Hog Genius, is currently scheduled to premiere in September.

Through a pair of hours, Engineering Programs will take viewers inside the construction of America’s highway system and the Los Angeles sewer system. The first examines this nation’s 47,000 miles of highways, while the second traverses the 6,500-mile sewer and 1,500-mile storm drain that serves the City of Angels. Produced by Powderhouse, they are scheduled to debut in the fourth quarter.

NGC -- which earned its best-ever quarter from January-March of this year, when it averaged a 0.5 Nielsen Media Research household rating in primetime -- also commissioned specials Science of Superhuman Strength and Science of Steroids. These one-hour programs examine human strength, both natural and enhanced, to learn the physical realities behind real superhuman strength and the truth amid the controversy that surrounds steroids.

On the series side, the network will also develop 10 and six new episodes for its existing Naked Science and Lockdown skeins, respectively.

NGC also launched a free, ad-supported broadband service dubbed NGC Wild!. The site will feature short-form content including exclusive original content, as well as excerpts and previews from full-length shows, officials said.

Content is provided in four categories.

NGC Wild! will also link from its broadband site to integrate with NGC’s site, as well as the National Geographic Society’s Web site ().