National Geographic Television Appoints Award-Winning Filmmaker Mark Wild Director Of International Development

London-based Industry Veteran Will Expand Television Production Relationships Throughout United States and International Territories

WASHINGTON - National Geographic Television (NGT) President Michael Rosenfeld announced today the hire of key industry figure Mark Wild as director of international development. Based in London, Wild will oversee development of international coproductions and partnerships for NGT. In this role he will develop television specials and series with independent producers based outside North America, and work with global broadcast partners to create commissions that meet their programming needs. He will report to Maryanne Culpepper, executive vice president, editorial and new business development.

“Mark’s extensive experience in television and film production, combined with his love for exploration, will be extremely beneficial to NGT as we build strong partnerships globally while expanding production both domestically and internationally,” said Rosenfeld. “With Mark in place, we are well positioned to create lasting relationships with our broadcast partners while bringing them new talent and new stories based on local knowledge and their specific programming needs.”

Previously, Wild served as director of production and development for Animal Planet International and was responsible for the network’s series “Meerkat Manor,” which won the Panda Award for most popular program at Wildscreen 2008. He also served as commissioning editor at Animal Planet, where he was responsible for approximately 160 hours of unique programming throughout the U.K., Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America regions — including series such as “Going Ape,” “Farm Life” and “Creatures Like Us,” as well as stand-alones such as “Russian Tiger” and “Daniel and Our Cats.”

“I enjoy working with interesting people, creating compelling stories and bringing insight to the world around us, so I am very excited to translate my passion for nature and adventure into compelling programming for National Geographic,” said Wild. “I look forward to creating culturally diverse content for broadcasters and to use this powerful medium to continue inspiring people to care about the planet.”

An accomplished explorer and documentary filmmaker, Wild has received numerous accolades for his documentaries. His long list of films includes “Temple of the Tigers,” “Tiger Zero,” “Gorilla, Gorilla,” “Ocean Voyagers,” which won the Nature Award at the Jules Verne Festival in 2008, and “Crime Scene Wild,” which won the Best Environment Program award at the 2007 Jackson Hole Festival.

About National Geographic Television
National Geographic Television (NGT) is the documentary TV production arm of the National Geographic Society (NGS), known around the world for its remarkable visuals and compelling stories. NGS is one of the largest global scientific and educational organizations, supporting field science on every continent and providing NGT with unparalleled access to developing stories around the world. In 1963 NGT broke ground by broadcasting on American network television the first moving pictures from the summit of Everest. Since then, NGT has continued to push technology to its limits to bring great stories to television audiences worldwide. With 129 Emmy Awards and nearly 1,000 other industry accolades, NGT programming can be seen globally on the National Geographic Channel, as well as terrestrial and other cable and satellite broadcasters worldwide through international sales by National Geographic Television International, and on U.S. public television stations.