• by David Goetzl , July 14, 2006

As advertisers press for environments that allow them to emerge from the clutter, the Discovery Channel is limiting the number of sponsors for its new Ted Koppel documentary series, "Koppel on Discovery."

In the current upfront, Discovery is offering five category-exclusive sponsorships for the Koppel programming, which includes seven documentaries and several of his signature "Town Hall" meetings. Those meetings frequently created a stir when Koppel held them on ABC's "Nightline," often bringing opposing sides face-to-face on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iraq war.

Koppel's debut documentary will take place Sept. 10 and focus on security in the post-9/11 world.

Discovery has sold two of the sponsorships, one to a car company and another to a technology firm. Packages include on-air and online exposure and the opportunity to sponsor yet-to-determined content related to the programming, such as podcasts or mobile streams.

Both buyers and sellers say that such franchise sponsorships often take time to execute and are usually done outside the upfront, but Discovery is prepared to make the deals within the traditional pre-season selling period. Discovery is pitching the sponsorships as an opportunity to reach an upscale audience.