New York Times Television/Discovery Times Channel, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF Announce a Four-Part Documentary Series on How China's Transformation Will Reshape Our World.

NEW YORK -- France 5 and S4C Will Collaborate in Global Broadcasting and Co-Production Initiative

A new alliance of leading European and North American networks has come together to launch a major high-definition documentary series on modern China.

The production brings together U.S., Canadian, German, U.K. and French broadcasters to produce a four-part documentary series that will chronicle the monumental changes unfolding in the world's most populous nation, and how this emerging superpower will reshape our world. The vivid, narrative four-hour documentary series will premiere in 2006.

The series will be produced by New York Times Television/Discovery Times Channel, CBC Television's Documentary Unit and Germany's ZDF, in co-production with S4C in the U.K. and France 5 in France.

"The combined journalistic resources and documentary experience of The New York Times, CBC and ZDF give us unparalleled resources for this huge and vitally important subject. And, working with our colleagues at France 5 and S4C, we will create a series that captures the attention of audiences around the world," said William Abrams, president, New York Times Television.

"We are proud to work with a tremendous group that all share our commitment to public service and world-class programming," said Mark Starowicz, area executive producer for documentaries, CBC. "The expertise and resources that have been assembled for the telling of one of the most important stories of our time enables us to do things others in the broadcast world haven't done before."

"This is a wonderful opportunity to provide our viewers with an unprecedented look at one of the most fascinating and important countries in the world," said Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, Discovery Times Channel.

"By gathering together the CBC, ZDF and New York Times Television, we have created an extremely powerful team with the experience and commitment to produce a documentary series with a unique global perspective," said Matthias Fornoff, managing editor, ZDF News and Current Affairs.

"We are pleased to work with these great companies in marrying high-quality programming and journalism to create this China project to international audiences," said Christian Gwinn, senior vice president, New York Times Television. "We look forward to this being the first of many international collaborations between us. All of these outlets share a tradition of journalistic enterprise and a commitment to innovative and in-depth coverage of the events that shape our world."

According to Ann Julienne, Head of International Co-productions, France 5, "France 5 is honored to be working with such a distinguished team, and we consider this will be a landmark series."

Cenwyn Edwards, Head of Co-production, S4C, said, "To tell China's story successfully will be no mean feat and that's why we're delighted to have on board some of the industry's finest journalistic and cinematic talents. This series will help open up China to a new world of viewers."

Under the terms of the agreement, NYT-TV, CBC and ZDF will co-produce the four-episode series. S4C, in addition to premiering the programs in the U.K., will manage global distribution in territories excluding North America, Germany, France and Japan.

About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2003 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eight network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. For the fourth consecutive year, the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's 2004 list of America's Most Admired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment. The Discovery Times Channel (www.discovery.com/times) combines the authority of The New York Times with the programming excellence of Discovery Communications to bring viewers groundbreaking documentary series and specials that shed light on the historical roots and tell the stories behind the events and ideas shaping our times.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. CBC/Radio-Canada reaches Canadians through eight national radio and television networks, its full-service Web sites, local/regional stations and affiliates, as well as the digital television channel Country Canada, and the continuous music network Galaxie. In addition, CBC/Radio-Canada has forged partnerships with other broadcasters and is a partner in the specialty television services ARTV and The Documentary Channel. Through this array of activities, CBC/Radio-Canada brings diverse regional and cultural perspectives into the daily lives of Canadians in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. CBC/Radio-Canada was included this year in Canada's Top 100 Employers.

Based in Mainz, ZDF operates a unique network of bureaus in all of the Lander capitals, and has major editorial and production capacity in Berlin - the nation's capital since unification of East and West Germany. ZDF's core operation is its nationwide television channel, which went on the air in 1963 and today reaches its viewers by cable, satellite or terrestrial antenna, both in analog and digital formats. As a public service broadcaster, ZDF has a remit to provide information, education and entertainment in its programming, reaching viewers of all ages and in all parts of Germany. With a clear focus on news and current affairs, ZDF is also particularly successful with documentaries, fiction and sports programs, and has proved able to defend a leading position in the highly competitive environment of currently more than 30 German public or commercial free-to-air television channels.

A part of France Television, France 5 is a content-oriented television company committed to broadcasting and sharing knowledge. Its primary role is to foster the sharing of knowledge and thus contribute to social and occupational mobility. France 5 is the leading French broadcaster of documentaries and seeks to arouse and nurture the interest of all audiences. This spirit underpins all its programs: magazines, programs for children and parents and programs on employment, the economy, science, the arts, history and the media.

S4C is a Welsh language television channel broadcasting in Wales, United Kingdom, which was established in response to demands for a channel to cater for the Welsh-speaking minority population in Wales. It started broadcasting on 1 November 1982.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com.