All the television fit to print

National Geographic got it right as early as 1965. While even recent print-to-tv ventures have faltered because they were too literal, Nat Geo wisely sought to expand its general brand mission - not the magazine's format, columns or features - to the then-emerging platform. Americans on Everest, the first National Geographic tv special, aired on cbs and delivered on the magazine's tradition of breathtaking images and out-of-this-world stories. 'Those were and are two great assets of the magazine that lend themselves to television in a direct way,' says Michael Rosenfeld, president of National Geographic Television. The brand's penetration speaks to the success of the approach. Nat Geo Channels International, which debuted in fall 1997, reaches about 190 million households in 34 languages. Nat Geo Channel US, launched in 2001, is available in 64 million homes. (The flagship magazine has a circulation of about 8.5 million people worldwide.)