Discovery Channel gets a boost from Oprah

(Fortune Magazine) -- Just when Madison Avenue felt the Discovery Channel had lost its way because of mind-expanding fare like "American Chopper," salvation came this spring in the form of a snow leopard and talk-show diva Oprah Winfrey. The leopard was just one of the stars of "Planet Earth," a $25 million co-production with the BBC.

And Winfrey was so taken by advance footage of the 11 episodes that she repeatedly commanded her viewers to tune in for the March 25 premiere: "You, everybody you know, everybody in your family, should watch this show - because we all live on planet Earth."

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The Oprah Effect helped the average Sunday-night airing of "Planet Earth" draw 5.1 million viewers - nearly twice as many eyeballs as the typical "O'Reilly Factor." An edition of the DVD is No. 1 on Amazon. A second season and a movie are in the offing.

And the fifth-place CW network just announced "Life Is Wild" for its fall schedule. The CW says there's no connection, but the show, about a New York vet who moves his family to a South African game preserve, is set for "Planet Earth's" time slot.

"A lot of people used to believe that the only thing that would be successful on TV had to be out-and-out celebrity or entertainment shows," says Jane Root, Discovery Channel's president, describing how Planet Earth's success validates the channel's return to its roots as a "knowledge network." Advertisers want in.

Bank of America (Charts, Fortune 500) was "Planet Earth's" primary sponsor. "It's an easy way for companies to say that they've done something for the environment," says Brad Adgate, a senior VP at Horizon Media, a New York City-based ad buyer.

Not to be outflanked by rival programmers trying to cash in on the nature trend, Discovery's parent (Discovery Communications (Charts)) plans to launch a new cable network, Planet Green, in 2008. Suddenly NBC's "Save the cheerleader" slogan from its hit series "Heroes" is beginning to sound so last season.