• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 13, 2008

Discovery Communications plans to use its flagship network to give newcomer Planet Green a boost in the weeks before the green-living channel goes live in June. Come May, the widely distributed Discovery Channel will air programming ticketed for Planet Green on consecutive Saturdays.

The Discovery network will air a prime-time broadcast each Saturday over a four-week period, sources said. And the telecasts will provide a peek at the type of branded integration opportunities Planet Green is offering advertisers--such as vignettes (produced by Discovery) that link a pro-environment message with a marketer.

The advertisers joining Planet Green at launch include Home Depot, S.C. Johnson Waste Management and General Motors, sources said. Advertisers have made multi-network buys across the Discovery fleet with some dollars apportioned to Planet Green, the sources said.

A Discovery representative declined comment.

The advertiser association with Planet Green can stretch to the network's Web site--as well as sister locale TreeHugger.com and other new-media platforms. A Waste Management banner had been running on the beta version of PlanetGreen.com before it was removed.

Discovery is replacing its Discovery Home Channel with Planet Green, giving the new network a reach into 50 million homes from the get-go. A year ago, Discovery said it would make a $50 million investment in content development. Planet Green's Web site carries the tagline "You Live Here," although it's unclear whether that will serve as the catchphrase in promotions before launch and then once the channel goes live.

Planet Green is aimed, at least in part, at attracting the burgeoning group of advertisers looking to promote their "going green" initiatives. About two dozen advertisers have campaigns going in that vein, according to an executive at a competing media company. Examples include Waste Management's "Think Green. Think Waste Management." effort--and General Electric's "Ecomagination" initiative.

Planet Green has announced some of its programming, such as a cooking show with Emeril Lagasse and a series chronicling the post-tornado rebuilding of a Kansas town in "green" fashion.

Sources said there will also be an exploration series starring the bow-tied Bill Nye--who has hosted a show on Discovery's Science Channel, but is best known for the Emmy-winning "Bill Nye the Science Guy" on PBS.

Also, Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" will make its debut on the Discovery Channel in late November, and then would be expected to re-air on the network. Other Discovery programming is also expected to be repurposed. A year ago, the company said the Discovery Channel would carry a "Ten Ways to Save The Planet" special series this summer, which would be a likely candidate.

"Greenovate," from the producers of TLC's "Flip That House" and currently airing on the Discovery Home Channel, will continue on Planet Green, sources said. The show focuses on renovations to make homes more eco-friendly. A working title of "Green That House" was floated last year, but apparently has been dropped.

Planet Green also may dabble in the popular reality-competition genre. One proposed series that looks to have been scuttled called for teams to race from Los Angeles to New York without using gas-guzzling vehicles.

At last spring's upfront, Discovery said it was seeking charter advertisers for Planet Green, and would offer them the chance to join a Discovery-funded journey to a destination such as the Amazon or Arctic to be led by Discovery personality Josh Bernstein.

Home Depot's environmental initiatives include a nearly decade-long effort to ensure the wood it sells doesn't come from endangered forests. S.C. Johnson committed late last month to increasing the number of hybrid cars driven by its sales force, and has been working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Waste Management runs a ThinkGreen.com Web site, and touts its commitment to recycling and turning landfills into wildlife habitats. GM says greenhouse gas emissions at its facilities have been reduced, while recycling has increased--and it's working to make its vehicles more environmentally friendly.