• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, September 7, 2006

With the exception of the Super Bowl, it's hard to find a show seeking more commercials. In response to ad and clutter creep, Discovery is limiting the commercial load on its Ted Koppel specials, "Koppel on Discovery," which launch Sunday.

The network promises about half the industry-standard commercial minutes--five minutes an hour--a potential boon to the five sponsors that bargained for category exclusivity: Ford, Geico, Microsoft, TD Ameritrade and Verizon Wireless. The deals were completed in the recent upfront.

"Discovery prides itself on creating deeper sponsorships that, in turn, offer advertisers competitive advantages," says Joe Abruzzese, president-advertising sales at Discovery Networks U.S. "By halving our typical commercial load for the Koppel series, we have crafted an opportunity that more and more advertisers are requesting: a low clutter environment with meaningful content against which they can best showcase their products and services."

"Koppel on Discovery: The Price of Security" kicks off the series for the longtime ABC anchor on his new TV home.

The sponsorship exclusivity extends to the Koppel-hosted live town hall meetings--a signature aspect of his "Nightline" tenure--that follow the broadcasts.