National Geographic Channel returns to the Titanic

[Rebecca Carey]

EXPLORER WHO DISCOVERED TITANIC RETURNS
WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
ON URGENT MISSION TO INVESTIGATE ENDANGERED WRECK

LIVE UNDERWATER BROADCAST FROM R.M.S. TITANIC TUESDAY 8 JUNE AT 02:00

The most famous shipwreck in modern history, the R.M.S. Titanic continues to draw audiences into the mystery of her death almost a century after her fatal collision with an iceberg. Now a destructive combination of natural forces and human intrusions is threatening to force the complete collapse of the wreck into the ocean floor. Almost two decades after discovering the sunken wreck of the Titanic, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Robert Ballard is returning to lead a scientific expedition on an urgent quest to determine the factors hastening its ultimate deterioration.

On Tuesday 8 June, 2004 at 02:00, National Geographic Channel will provide audiences with unprecedented access to the ongoing expedition by broadcasting a one-hour special “Return to Titanic.” The broadcast will originate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research ship Ronald H. Brown and include a live broadcast from Titanic’s watery grave, some 12,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’m returning to Titanic to see what has happened to the ship in the almost 20 years that have elapsed since I first discovered her,” said Dr. Ballard. “Using high-definition cameras, we will take images of the ship and its surrounding debris field and compare them to the images we made in 1985 and 1986. This will allow our team, and the viewers at home, to contrast the ship’s past and present and see the level of change for ourselves.”
National Geographic Channel UK is making sure that the UK and Ireland aren't missing out on Dr Ballard's expedition either.

Latest changes to the National Geographic Channel (UK) schedule bring in a line-up of three Titanic documentaries back to back starting at 12.30am on Monday night. This culminates by picking up the live American broadcast of "Return to Titanic: LIVE" at 2.00am.
Worth staying up for.

National Geographic Channel in the UK can be found on:

Sky - Channel 558
Telewest - Channel 230
NTL - Channel 505/139

For more information, links to despatches and latest pictures:
visit http://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/titanic

Here's the line-up as it stands:

Next Monday night (technically early Tuesday morning, June 8th)
12.30am Titanic's Treasures
1.00am Titanic's Ghosts
2.00am Return to Titanic: LIVE
http://www.ngceurope.com/returntotitanic

Enjoy the viewing.

 

[Paul Lee]

returntotitanic.com says that the show will include the "first live underwater telecast from Titanic."

Wasn't there a Discovery Channel/RMSTI show produced years ago that also has this claim? It had a "live" interview with the sonar imaging guy in Nautile AFAIR.

Cheers

Paul

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Wasn't there a Discovery Channel/RMSTI show produced years ago that also has this claim?<<

Yep. As I recall, it was called "Live From Titanic." There were also live feeds from the Cameron Expedition three years ago, but they were presented on the Internet, not the telly.

 

[Bill Willard]

Yes, Paul.

Titanic Live! was on the Discovery Channel August 16, 1998. And it did show Paul Matthias in Nautile while Robin toured the reciprocating engine.

I contacted the National Geographic Channel and informed them that their release was inaccurate. Here was the NG response:

Dear Mr. Willard,

The Discovery broadcast was live from the expedition vessel on the surface.. Our broadcast will culminate in a live broadcast from 12,000 feet below the surface from the actual shipwreck site.

Thanks very much for the level of interest in the project, and I hope you'll be watching on June 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET on the National Geographic
Channel.

Ellen Stanley
Director, Communications
National Geographic

So I promptly followed with this:

Thank you for your response! But with all due respect, Sarah James interviewed Paul Matthias on board Nautile at the stern section of the Titanic while Robin, the IFREMER ROV was getting a close-up of the reciprocating engines. Granted, the DCI/NBC crew were based on Ocean Voyager (I was on OV at the time), but they cut to the live interview on the bottom of ocean at Titanic's stern, with the Nautile camera feed being broadcast live in real time. I remember it well. Sarah James asked Paul Matthias about a dozen times what it like to be live at the bottom of the ocean. She asked over, and over, and... I'm sure you've seen the show.

Again, thanks for your quick response. I'm looking forward to the high quality that I've become accustomed to with the National Geographic affiliation.

**************

So in most cases NG has changed the release to what we see above. I know of several people who attempted to contact NG over the "first live" claim, so at least someone made a bit of headway.

 

[Mike Bull]

No offence, but don't we already have a thread running on the new expedition?!

 

[Omar Khokhar]

Another National Geographic Special is to be shown on 10th December 2004. I don`t have any further details, as yet