PBS Picks Up a Deep-Pocketed Sponsor

After a four-year dry spell, ExxonMobil will return to PBS as a national sponsor starting June 9, both companies announced today.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company will partially underwrite Nightly Business Report and NOVA.

"They're two programs that attract the type of audience the company [ExxonMobil] deems important to their business," Stuart Zuckerman, vice president of sales and marketing at Nightly Business Report, told Portfolio.com.

Zuckerman said financial details of the sponsorship were "confidential."

Zuckerman brushed off potential conflicts of interest in future coverage of stories critical of Exxon, adding that there is a clear separation of church and state at PBS.

"Viewers trust PBS because of our integrity," said Zuckerman. "PBS is the most trusted media brand."

Exxon will receive sponsor identification at the programs' Web sites on pbs.org in addition to on-air sponsor credits.

Exxon sponsored PBS' Masterpiece Theatre for more than 30 years, spending an estimated $250 million, before pulling out in 2004.

by Alfonso Serrano F.

(Jeff Bercovici is on vacation.)