Departing CEO Laureen Ong Comments on National Geographic Channel Plans and Environmental Commitments

In her last interview prior to resigning from National Geographic Channel where she was founding president Laureen Ong expressed her continuing passion for the network confirmed her belief that the network was about to embark on its most exciting year and rewarding advertising sales season in its six year history and outlined the network39s ongoing commitment to programming focused on sustainability conservation and climate crisis issuesOng departs National Geographic to become COO of another News Corp property STAR the Hong Kongbased satellite operation News Corp owns the majority of NGC US Ong39s departure follows the recent departure of EVP programming John Ford Ong will stay with NGC through June and Ford stays on into August David Haslingden was named CEO of NatGeo veteran marketing executive Steve Schiffman was promoted to acting general manger and Michael Cascio continues as programming vice presidentFollowing the announcement Ong told Jack Myers Media Business Report quotIt would be fair to say that this wonderful opportunity for me acknowledges and points to the tremendous success of NGC over the past six years I leave NGC with a very bittersweet feeling I am sad to leave a very talented team that I have grown close to and have enjoyed working with I am however excited about where the team will take the business in the coming yearsquotOng points to eleven programs on the network that generated at least a one rating in the first quarter of this year in its 65 million homes as evidence of the network39s continuing growth quotOur first one rating was in October 2004quot she recalls quotIn 2005 we had eight programs that delivered a one rating in 2006 there were 12 Something is going on herequotOne of Ong39s accomplishments was her commitment to produce every series in high definition and to simulcast the network in both analog and HD quotIt39s consistent with our brandquot she explains quotWe need to remain relevant and contemporaryquot The network39s Upfront kit for advertisers is produced in a conservation friendly manner with the approval of the Forest Stewardship Council In the same context Ong has been a vocal advocate for expanding the network39s programming related to the climate crisis quotThere is enough evidence that global warming will affect my children and me in our lifetimes Our offices are the first totally green building in DC The corporation is embracing this issue and pushing it to our employees by offering incentives to own a hybrid vehicle and use public transportation We encourage people to come up with ideas on how they can incorporate green concepts into their daily routinesquotProgramming chief Cascio adds quotin our programming on climate issues we are presenting facts and allowing viewers to decide The channel is based on science and research and we insist on double source accuracy Our Human Footprint special this Spring will illustrate how personal decisions impact on the worldquot Human Footprint is one of four Incredible Earth specials sponsored by General Electric that are basically a biography of the earth Ong interjects quotthe earth is in old age now and it39s having a temperature tantrum The earth is a living breathing organism and we39re presenting it with facts from the perspectives of the past present and likely futurequot Other specials include Impossible Planet Earth and Six Degrees which offers facts and insights on what occurs to the earth as the earth39s average temperature progressively increases by one degree to six degreesquotWe come by this programming honestly as part of our brandquot says Ong quotThere has always been a conservation message and inspiring people to care about their planet is part of our responsibility We39re not preaching and our viewers are smart enough to understand the factsquotNational Geographic39s programming archive has made it one of the most popular videoondemand channels with 19 million subscribers It has had tremendous success with the Dog Whisperer franchise and Naked Science and is expanding its commitments to both series and specials including The Road to War a fourth quarter special that features interviews with several of the government officials who made the decisions that led to our current situation in IraqOng observes quotas trends shift viewers spend more time with user generated content and as viewers39 choices increase the National Geographic brand is a beacon that stands as a trusted source People need beacons and trusted brands that they can depend on and have confidence in Advertisers also want to associate with and support media that offers strong brand equity with their audiencesquot In just the past two years NGC has added more than 100 new advertisers behind the efforts of senior vice president Richy Goldfarb who can be reached at rgoldfarbnatgeochannelcom for more information

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Departing CEO Laureen Ong Comments on National Geographic Channel Plans and Environmental Commitments

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Departing CEO Laureen Ong Comments on National Geographic Channel Plans and Environmental Commitments

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