Nat Geo in NYC

National Geographic Channel is on the prowl in New York. The network is currently rolling out on Time Warner Cable systems in the Big Apple.

New York, thanks largely to the presence of Madison Avenue, is a coveted distribution platform for any new cable network. And for NGC, which claims about 35 million subscribers, an analog rollout in New York also means adding 1 million new homes to its count.

To support the New York launch, NGC is plunking down about $1 million in marketing and promotional dollars -- $1 per Time Warner New York subscriber.

Throughout January, the network plans activities and stunts around New York to hype its launch.

"New Yorkers by nature are extremely adventurous and curious, and we know that the National Geographic Channel will feed their inherent love of the new, the different and the exotic," NGC president Laureen Ong said.

NGC is now on channel 65 in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.