In the HD broadcasting world, National Geographic Channel (NGC) stands as one of the innovators of providing HD (high-definition) content. The broadcaster already has a number of HD channels on platforms around the world, however, NGC is not resting on its laurels as it looks to bring even more HD content to viewers around the globe.
David Haslingden, who joined National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) as CEO in December 1999 and was appointed CEO of Fox International Channels (FIC) in October 2001, is responsible for all global operations of National Geographic-branded cable and satellite channels across Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Canada. He also is responsible for Fox Channels in all international territories.
NGCI’s combined reach exceeds 230 million homes in 163 countries and in 27 languages. NGC launched in the United States in January 2001 and is available in more than 64 million homes. As CEO of NGCI and FIC, he aims to further integrate both network operations
Haslingden talks with Via Satellite Associate Editor Mark Holmes about how the broadcaster is progressing with its HD strategy and the strategy for the next stage in content development.
VIA SATELLITE: How has the global economic credit crunch impacted National Geographic’s HD strategy?
HASLINGDEN: The crisis has impacted us, and in some markets more than others. In the United Kingdom, for example, it has been painful for us as well as the other multichannel operators and broadcasters that we compete against. We have suffered in every market. That said, unlike our colleagues that are just in the broadcasting business, we have been lucky to be sustained by our affiliate fees to some degree. We have managed to outperform most in the industry.
So while our financial performance during this period has fallen short of our pre-crisis expectations, our experience during the period has strengthened our view that the pay-TV model is a strong one, and that it is an astute investment compared to alternatives in the media field. So, ironically perhaps, the crisis has strengthened out desire to invest where we can strengthen our product, and HD is a great example.
VIA SATELLITE: Is National Geographic planning on ramping up the number of HD channels in certain markets over the next year?
HASLINGDEN: HD is a particularly important opportunity for National Geographic because our brand and our channels are synonymous with spectacular imagery. Whether it is the bottom of the ocean, a remote rainforest or different cultural aspects of the planet, people expect us to show it more vividly than anyone else. So for us, HD is a really critical technological development. It is one that we want to take advantage of as aggressively as we can because it enables us to tell our story better than we have before. As a result of this, when HD became a viable commercial opportunity for us as a channel provider, which was in early 2006, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, we were one of the first broadcasters to transmit our services in full HD.
Equally, on the production side, from early 2004, we started producing in full HD. Our success to date is pretty self-evident In the United States, we have been the number one network for five years running in the research brand identity study, which is one of the core research tools for following HD products in the United States. In the United Kingdom and Italy and other nature markets, we have seen enormous consumer satisfaction and demand for our HD products.
In terms of whether we will launch new channels, in the next 12 months, we will launch a number of new HD versions of the National Geographic channel and also the Nat Geo Wild channel. You would have seen the recent launch of the Nat Geo Wild HD channel in the United Kingdom, where it has been a great success. Natural history as an area works beautifully for HD.
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