PORTLAND, Ore., April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rentrak Corporation (NASDAQ: RENT), the leader in multi-screen media measurement serving the advertising, television and entertainment industries, today announced an expanded contract with National Geographic Channel to provide access for Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo to Rentrak's TV Essentials national measurement currency in order to improve programming, sales and marketing strategies.

National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD will now have access to the most granular TV viewing data to help understand their viewers. The channel's recently announced Nat Geo Mundo, a Spanish-language network extension of its flagship National Geographic Channel brand launching July 1, 2011, will also benefit from Rentrak's TV Essentials database of millions of reporting households to provide insights the National Geographic Channel team needs to grow and expand its newest content offering.

"Rentrak's suite of services from OnDemand Essentials to TV Essentials offers a unique set of tools for us to analyze more specific viewer behavior across our networks.  We believe that TV Essentials and OnDemand Essentials are important tools in continuing to build our audiences on TV and video-on-demand," said Brad Dancer, Senior Vice President, Research and Digital Media, National Geographic Channels.

"National Geographic Channel's support of TV Essentials confirms their commitment and confidence in Rentrak as an effective TV database measurement currency," said Carol Hinnant, Senior Vice President of National Network Sales, Advanced Media and Information (AMI) division at Rentrak.

A long-time OnDemand Essentials subscriber, National Geographic Channel signed a contract with Rentrak earlier this year for access to the company's new AdEssentials service which is the first system to offer third party reporting and verification of advertising impressions delivered on the video-on-demand platform.

About Rentrak Corporation

Rentrak (NASDAQ: RENT) is a global digital media measurement and research company, serving the most recognizable companies in the entertainment industry. With a reach across numerous platforms including box office, multi-screen television, and home video, Rentrak has developed more efficient metrics to be used as alternative currencies for the evaluation and selling of media. Rentrak is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with additional U.S. and international offices. For more information on Rentrak, please visit www.rentrak.com.

About National Geographic Channel

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channel (NGC) is a joint venture between National Geographic Ventures (NGV) and Fox Cable Networks (FCN).  Since launching in January 2001, NGC initially earned some of the fastest distribution growth in the history of cable and more recently the fastest ratings growth in television.  The network celebrated its fifth anniversary in January 2006 with the launch of NGC HD, which provides the spectacular imagery that National Geographic is known for in stunning high definition.  NGC has carriage with all of the nation's major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available in nearly 70 million homes.  For more information, please visit www.natgeotv.com.

About Nat Geo WILD

For more than 30 years, National Geographic has been the leader in wildlife programming.  Now the animal kingdom is taking center stage on a brand-new network, Nat Geo WILD.  Offering intimate encounters with nature's ferocious fighters and gentle creatures of land, sea and air, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo WILD HD will draw upon the cutting-edge work of the many explorers, filmmakers and scientists who have long-standing relationships with the National Geographic Society.  Nat Geo WILD is a joint venture between Fox Cable Networks (FCN) and National Geographic Ventures (NGV) -- the same partnership behind the National Geographic Channel (NGC), which launched January 2001 and has since been one the most successful new networks on the landscape.  Nat Geo WILD launched globally more than three years ago and is the fastest growing channel among the international portfolio of National Geographic networks.

About Nat Geo Mundo

Launched in 2011, Nat Geo Mundo is a nonfiction entertainment network that features high-quality original programming involving nature, science, culture and history.  A joint venture between Fox Networks Group and National Geographic Ventures, the mission of Nat Geo Mundo is to inspire U.S. Latino families by expanding their horizons through entertainment about the world that surrounds them. Nat Geo Mundo is a contemporary extension of the National Geographic Society, which has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888.

Contacts for Rentrak Corporation:
Sallie Olmsted / Amanda Bialek
Office: 310-854-8124 / 310-854-8151
E-mail: solmsted@rogersandcowan.com / abialek@rogersandcowan.com

SOURCE Rentrak Corporation