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Geico, Toyota Sign Major Integration Deals With Channel
National Geographic Channel is exploring the new-media landscape in which content and advertising mate to create a new species.
As part of one of the largest sponsorship deals in its history, the nature network is sending one of its noted scientist-hosts on a quest to find a creature that's rare in nature but frequently visible on television: the Geico gecko.
Celebrated herpetologist Brady Barr, host of NatGeo's "Dangerous Encounters" and "Wild," will appear in a series of vignettes tracking the reptilian insurance spokesman.
National Geographic, founded in 2001, is coming off its best upfront ever. During the upfront, the channel signed two of its biggest sponsorship deals to date: the Geico sponsorship and a deal with Toyota Motor Co., whose Toyota division will be a major sponsor of "The Dog Whisperer." Toyota's Lexus division is sponsoring a special about blue whales.
The deals are estimated to be worth more than $10 million apiece.
In the course of the upfront, National Geographic increased its dollar volume by 30%, with rate increases in terms of cost per thousand viewers (CPM) topping 10%, according to industry sources.
"National Geographic tends to be toward the higher end of the CPM increase range historically in the marketplace because of their upscale and engaged viewers," said David Campanelli, VP...