Turner South has partnered with Southern Company to present its sixth new original series, The Natural South, in February 2002.

The joint announcement was made today by Sophia Karteris, vice president of programming for Turner South, and Southern Company Chairman Allen Franklin.

The new program joins existing network series Off The Menu at Commander’s Palace, Live From The Bluebird Café, WCW Classics and the Emmy-winning Southern Living Presents and Liars & Legends. The Natural South will premiere Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002 at 6 p.m. (ET).

The Natural South is a half-hour series that will explore the environmental jewels of the Southeast. From the John Pennekamp Coral Reef and Key Largo Preserve in South Biscayne Bay, Fla. to the reintroduction of the red wolf and river otter in the Great Smoky Mountains, the program will feature the attempts being made to preserve the wild in the Southeast and ways the viewer can help by making changes in their home environment.

The audience for the Turner South Network is similar to Southern Company`s regional footprint where it is currently viewed in 5.7 million homes in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.

“Sponsoring The Natural South offers Southern Company an opportunity to provide viewers across our region information about the natural resources and habitats in the Southeast, as well as what can be done to protect and enhance our environment,” said Franklin, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Southern Company.

Additionally, each episode will wrap environmental and ecology segments around the main “personal environment” centerpiece. An environmentalist host will guide viewers through southeastern resources and ecosystems that tie in to the featured home environment. Planned topics include rare vegetation, native animals, air quality, water sources, natural building materials and environmental efforts to reverse problems.

“Turner South is pleased to add The Natural South to its line-up of original series,” said Karteris. “We recognize that today, more and more consumers are looking for ways to increase their personal participation in the environmental movement, and The Natural South can assist them in this effort while providing an entertaining and engaging show.”

The program will be hosted by Cathy Sakas, a professional nature educator and Emmy-nominated television producer. Two nature documentary series called Coastal Naturalist earned her acclaimed recognition and a conservation award from the Georgia Wildlife Federation in 1995.

Turner South, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s 24-hour regional entertainment network, presents a mix of original programming, movies, regional news and sports to cable and DBS affiliates in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and regions of North Carolina. Available to more than 5.8 million subscribers, the 12-time Emmy-winning network penetrated its universe by more than 80 percent in just 23 months of existence, making it the fastest network to reach this distribution percentage in cable history. The network also has garnered 14 National Promax/BDA Awards since its inception, offers games from the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks and is the official home of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. For more information, access the Web site at turnersouth.com or AOL keyword: turner south.

With nearly 4 million customers and more than 34,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns five electric utilities, a fast-growing competitive generation company and an energy services business, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.