NBCUniversal's "Green is Universal" initiative unveiled its
programming plans for its first Earth Week since the Comcast merger, which will
run April 17-24.
More than 45 brands across the new NBCU portfolio will
participate in more than 100 hour of environmentally themed content throughout
the week. While the planning for April's Earth Week was a bit delayed because
of the impending Comcast merger, once the deal was approved, the Comcast brands
signed on quickly. "Knowing that the merger discussions were underway we
basically had a game plan, and the minute the merger went through we pulled
that trigger," Beth Colleton, vice president, Green is Universal, told B&C. "Within 30 days, we had
everyone on board."
This year's Earth Week theme is "reuse," which was driven by
NBCU research that said 93% of consumers feel they have a personal
responsibility to take care of the environment. "We used our various outlets to
translate that idea of reuse in a way that makes sense organically with each
part of the business," said Colleton.
Earth Week programming will kick off on Sunday, April 17
with green-themed segments on Meet the
Press tied to the new of the day, and continue on Monday with the first of
the Today show's segments. Co-hosts
Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford will serve as judges for the "Art of Reuse"
contest, a partnership between Green is Universal and Etsy.
Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, and environmental
affairs correspondent Anne Thompson will be in the Gulf region as of April 18
to report on the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill. MSNBC's Jeff Corwin
will also cover, and CNBC will premiere the documentary Fuel, about the history of energy in America.
On the cable networks, Oxygen's STORIbook Weddings will plan a wedding using reused objects, The
Style Network will feature environmentally themed tips in its Style Nightcap,
and E! will incorporate green themes on Chelsea
Lately, The Soup and Fashion Police. The Weather Channel will air a town hall event about climate science moderated by Tom Brokaw called "Changing Planet."
Sprout will feature some cross-network synergy when Bravo's
latest Top Chef winner, Richard
Blais, stops by The Sunny Side Up Show
to create a preschool friendly dish and recycled craft for its 1000th
episode. "We're always looking for ways to be stronger as a united front and I
think that's a fun example," said Colleton.
In addition to the on-air
tie-ins, several NBCU brands, including NBC, USA, Syfy and Bravo will take
green digital, offering viewers custom Earth Week stickers from GetGlue for
checking in to certain green themed shows throughout the week.
