Earth the new star as green fills screen

Green is now officially big business in Hollywood.

Beginning in the fall, programs on the youth-oriented CW network will include story lines that promote environmental themes. Some of the CW's hottest stars will tout energy-saving tips in public service announcements. And, the network recently decided, all the paper it uses will be recycled and printed on both sides.

The CW, jointly owned by CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment, says it's jumping on the green wagon because it wants to champion a cause that's important to 18-to-34-year-olds, a group that's particularly concerned about global warming.

"This really does align us with the interests of our target audience," said Rick Haskins, the CW's marketing chief.

In Hollywood, of course, motivation comes in a different shade of green.

"There's definitely goodwill involved, but from a business perspective, there is a huge opportunity in the marketplace to support environmental initiatives," said Cary Rubinstein, who is in charge of buying advertising for Bank of America, the main sponsor of the Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" series.

So Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive of General Electric Co., which owns NBC Universal, plans to come to Universal Studios in Los Angeles next month to trumpet the company's "ecomagination" campaign and its line of energy-efficient products, including lightbulbs, wind turbines and hybrid train locomotives -- and perhaps soon an NBC reality show with an ecological twist.

This month, cable programmer Discovery Communications Inc. said it would dedicate $50 million to produce original shows with Earth-friendly themes. After its success this year with "Planet Earth," the Silver Spring, Md., company decided to relaunch its Discovery Home digital channel next year as Discovery Planet Green, with shows that explore such topics as eco-design, organic food and green architecture.

Advertisers are lining up.

"This is being driven both by consumer interest, people who want to live their lives in more environmentally friendly ways and by advertisers," said David Zaslav, chief executive of Discovery. "We've gotten enormous encouragement from advertisers not only to take a big swing, but to let them join us as partners."