Ford Motor Company Commits to Three Additional Years of Funding For Thirteen/WNET New York's Primetime NATURE Series on PBS

NEW YORK--Sept. 20, 2004--Ford Motor Company, which has helped to fund Thirteen/WNET New York's acclaimed NATURE series on PBS for the past 10 years, has committed to an additional three years of underwriting. Ford will continue its financial support at least through the 2006-2007 broadcast season.

NATURE, which will launch its 23rd season on PBS this fall and continues to be one of public television's highest rated primetime series, has earned more than 270 honors, including numerous Emmys, the coveted George Foster Peabody Award, the Parents Choice TV Award, and the first award presented to a television program by the Sierra Club.

The series is seen Sunday nights at 8 p.m. (ET) on more than 300 hundred PBS affiliates around the nation (check local listings).

"The consistent high-quality and far-ranging scope of the NATURE series provides Ford with an ideal platform on which to represent our own potent commitment to sound environmental practice," says Andy Acho, Ford's Worldwide Director of Environmental Outreach and Strategy. "We are extremely proud of our long association with this important television series."

"Corporate support for our programming is a powerful marketing tool," observes Jim Joyella, Thirteen's managing director of national program sponsorships. "The PBS viewer is educated, influential, and active on the community level. We believe those audience attributes are the driving force behind the remarkable length of Ford's commitment, and the long-standing sponsorships we also enjoy with other corporate funders."

Fred Kaufman, executive producer of NATURE, says, "The loyalty Ford has shown us is very much appreciated, and also gratifying as an indication that our programs continue to highlight timely issues regarding how humans interact with wildlife. Relevance and quality are our highest objectives."

Mr. Kaufman notes that Ford's financial support so far has helped bring nearly 500 episodes to the screen, and that Ford's on-screen messages at the beginning and conclusion of each program have achieved an estimated 3.8 billion viewer impressions.

NATURE began auspiciously in the fall of 1982, when its very first program, The Flight of the Condor, went on to win the Best of Festival Award at the International Wildlife Festival, and the National Audubon Award. In more than two decades since, the series has been known for showcasing the work of the world's most accomplished wildlife filmmakers, covering the broadest range of provocative, and sometimes previously unrecognized, problems and issues.

In addition to Ford, NATURE receives financial support from long-time funders Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Park Foundation.

William Grant is executive-in-charge of the series for Thirteen/WNET New York.

NATURE is closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and distributed with Descriptive Video Service (DVS) for the sight-impaired. For more information, visit www.thirteen.org or www.pbs.org . This Web companion to the weekly series contains in-depth information and colorful graphics for each program.

Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing such acclaimed series as NATURE, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Wide Angle, Stage on Screen, Secrets of the Dead, and Cyberchase - as well as the work of Bill Moyers - to audiences nationwide. As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers each week, airing the best of American public television along with its own local productions such as The Ethnic Heritage Specials, the Thirteen Walking Tours, New York Voices, and Reel New York. With educational and community outreach projects that extend the impact of its television productions, Thirteen takes television "out of the box." And as broadcast and digital media converge, Thirteen is blazing trails in the creation of Web sites, enhanced television, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, educational software, and other cutting-edge media products. More information about Thirteen can be found at: www.thirteen.org.