WASHINGTON (Sept. 4, 2008)—Ted Prince, COO of National Geographic Ventures (NGV) and executive vice president of operations for National Geographic Global (NGGM), today announced the formation of National Geographic Mobile to extend the company's core mission via mobile programming and games.

Aaron Kohn will lead the global rollout of the division, serving as general manager, and will oversee the strategic direction, technology advancement and marketing developments for all National Geographic mobile initiatives. Kohn also serves as vice president of corporate strategy & development for NGGM and is responsible for the global development of new businesses and product strategy in support of NGGM's various business units.

"With the launch of National Geographic Mobile, we are pleased to partner with leading carriers and global handset manufacturers, aggregators and developers to share our library of award-winning photos, video and new properties. This is a great opportunity for us to leverage our wonderful assets and feed the growing demand from consumers who are looking for compelling, rich media content on their cell phones and for us to extend our mission globally," said Prince. "In addition, Aaron's expertise in business development and interactive entertainment coupled with his current role at NGGM will be a terrific resource for business partners seeking entertaining video, music, images and games designed for the mobile platform."

Recognized for its powerful videos and stunning photography, National Geographic will continue to license its library assets to a wide range of mobile handset manufacturers, aggregators, developers and carriers. Launching in October, National Geographic's Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) site will encompass all content optimized for mobile, including categories such as news, green, images, music and videos. All content will tie closely to features from National Geographic's award-winning magazines and Channel.

National Geographic will soon partner with PlayPhone to drive mobile content distribution online. The subscription-based service will allow consumers to download National Geographic wallpapers, ringtones, video and games through their personal computers to their phones.

"National Geographic Mobile brings our brand to a new digital platform, offering audiences the captivating video, images and sounds that only the National Geographic brand can deliver," said Kohn. "By leveraging our considerable assets, old and new audiences can now enjoy our content on the small screen."

Prior to National Geographic, Kohn spent a number of years at AOL and FOX, where he was responsible for product and business development and strategy for various units, including international, digital media, mobile, Web properties, and home video. He has more than 10 years of experience spanning the Internet, entertainment and consumer technology industries.

About National Geographic Ventures

National Geographic Ventures (NGV) is a wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of National Geographic Society, one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888 to "increase and diffuse geographic knowledge," the National Geographic Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. NGV includes National Geographic Television production and distribution, National Geographic Television International, National Geographic Films and National Geographic Giant Screen Films, Kids Entertainment, National Geographic Home Entertainment, National Geographic Music and Radio, National Geographic Mobile, National Geographic Games, Digital Media including Digital Motion (formerly the Film Library), Nationalgeographic.com and National Geographic Maps. NGV creates and distributes content across multi-platforms and media providing outlets for the hundreds of scientific and expedition-based grants awarded each year. For more information, go to www.nationalgeographic.com.