MediaCom wins £1.5m National Geographic Channel brief

The National Geographic Channel has appointed MediaCom to handle its &£1.5m media buying and planning account.

MediaCom was appointed to the UK business without a pitch. It is understood MindShare was the last agency to work on the account. MediaCom will work on promoting key programmes and alternative ways of marketing the channel. Creative work is handled in house by the channel.

National Geographic Channel head of UK marketing Marc Ollington says: “MediaCom’s experience and knowledge of the UK pay-TV market is unrivalled.”

MediaCom already handles media buying for BSkyB and Turner Broadcasting.The National Geographic Channel is available on Sky Digital, Telewest and NTL and has recently agreed to supply programming for Telewest’s new video-on-demand service.

The pay-channel broadcasts themed programming during the week, such as “Disaster Tuesday” and “Wild Thursday”, and a variety of programming during the weekend.

The National Geographic Channel was launched in Europe and Australia in September 1997 and is now broadcast in 200 million homes, 146 countries and 26 languages. In Europe it has a reach of 32 million homes across 35 countries and broadcasts programmes in 18 languages. It is co-owned by News Corp, which also has a stake in BSkyB and the National Geographic Society. Liberty chairman John Malone is believed to be interested in buying the channel.