Animal Planet will soon be aping Discovery Channel's 'Watch with the World'
global programming events starting with Meet the Pandas -- a one-hour
special scheduled to bow on Earth Day, April 22, in the 62 countries that
receive the network.
Animal Planet, which will be five years old this fall, will designate its
programming stunt 'Planet-Wide Premiere.' A total of 20 language-customized
versions of the special are being created to air in the same time slot on the
same day around the world, the network said.
Meet the Pandas (subtitled 'Washington's New Power Couple') will also be
the subject of an integrated outreach effort that will include Discovery Channel
Stores and a special section on the Animal Planet Web site. There will be
banners, tie-in product displays and in-store events at the company's retail
outlets, Discovery Communications Inc. president Judith A. McHale said
Tuesday.
As the Smithsonian National Zoo's official media sponsor of the giant pandas,
Animal Planet was granted unprecedented access to tell the story of their
journey from China to Washington, D.C.
In the United States, the primetime Meet the Pandas special will be
sponsored in part by Exxon Mobil Corp., Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc. and
American Dairy Queen Corp.
