The Discovery Channel is finalizing timeslots and sponsorship details for its fall programming blitz about the red planet. A hefty budget for the project — about $20 million — was committed to the project last May when Discovery announced a deal with Montreal-based Galafilm Productions to produce the four-part docudrama Race to Mars and six-part companion series Mars Rising.

The two programs will fuel a fall programming strategy that aims to draw viewers in with drama, interaction and speculation about a manned trip to the red planet in 2030. The fall event was at the forefront of Discovery’s Spring Launch 2007 event in Toronto last week, when president and GM Paul Lewis promised the Mars initiative ‘will be one of the biggest factually based programming events ever.’

Discovery VP sales and marketing Sally Basmajian says the net is planning to sell a major sponsorship called ‘Mission A’ for a cool $1-million price tag. Integration details are still in development, but Basmajian says the net’s sales and marketing pros are going to ‘cast a wide net with this one.’

The Mission A sponsor will also get tie-ins with Discovery’s consumer advertising efforts and involvement in the Mars Interactive companion site developed by Toronto-based QuickPlay Media (the same company that did the Degrassi: The Next Generation site for CTV).

‘It’s going to be the deepest, richest accompanying power site that we’ve ever had for any of our properties,’ says Basmajian. ‘It’s going to be very highly integrated with the production, with lots of features, such as games and information. It’s also going to be devised so that it’s appropriate for different age groups. There will be more than one target demographic, because what we’re trying to do with the Mars initiative is really capture the imaginations of people throughout Canada, regardless of age.’

The scheduling of the programs is conveniently timed. NASA plans to launch the Phoenix Mars Mission, an unmanned mission to the red planet, in August. Capitalizing on the buzz surrounding the live launch, Discovery will air a one-hour documentary on the Phoenix mission (title and timeslot yet to be finalized). Video vignettes about Mars (30 and 60 seconds each) will begin airing on Discovery in August, rotating throughout the daily schedule until November.

Race to Mars will premiere in a two-hour block (8-10 p.m.) on Sunday, Sept. 23, with the conclusion scheduled for the same timeslot on Sunday, Sept. 30. The following Sunday, Oct. 7, will see the two-hour premiere of Mars Rising hit the air before Discovery rolls out the remaining four parts in one-hour blocks (which may or may not remain in the Sunday night timeslot).

The programming will also coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch, an event that will generate space exploration and celebrations around the globe. Europe plans to send up 50 small satellites to commemorate the date in October.

As well, Discovery’s flagship program, Daily Planet, will feature its own factoids and segments around the Mars programming push.

At the conclusion of the two Mars series, the net will air a special one-hour Daily Planet town-hall production, in which scientists and the public will be brought together to debate the question itself: Should we be planning to set human feet on Mars?

Nielsen’s fall 2006 data on English-Canadian specialty channels named Discovery as the net with the highest average weekly reach — about four million adults 25-54 — and the number one non-sports specialty net in Canada (based on AMA).

Discovery was also the top specialty net for Canadians with household incomes of $75,000-plus and $100,000-plus. Heading into the spring schedule, Discovery’s standing among specialties is solidified by the results from the 2006 TV Quality Survey, a measure of 1,354 Canadians’ attitudes about TV conducted by BBM Canada subsidiary ComQuest Research looking at last October and December.

The 2006 TVQ Survey respondents named Discovery the number-one specialty net worth paying for and the top specialty net for viewer awareness and viewer satisfaction.

From Media in Canada