21st Century Fox is investing an additional $725 million in its joint venture with the National Geographic Society, with which it has had an 18-year partnership.

As a result of the new deal, 21st Century Fox will own 73 percent of the expanded joint venture, named National Geographic Partners, while the Society will own 27 percent.

Gary Knell, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society, will serve as the first board chairman, a position that will alternate annually. Declan Moore, currently chief media officer of the National Geographic Society, will serve as CEO of National Geographic Partners.

The expanded joint venture will combine Nat Geo’s TV channels, including National Geographic and NatGeo WILD, with the Society’s other media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines, National Geographic Studios and many other businesses. The deal will put National Geographic magazine under a for-profit umbrella for the first time, reports the Washington Post.

National Geographic first partnered with Fox to launch the National Geographic Channel in 1997, and went on to create other cable channels. Now available in 86 million homes in the U.S. and in 171 countries, NatGeo is the largest and most lucrative asset that the Society owns, reports the Post.

“As media organizations work to meet the increasing demand for high quality storytelling across multiple platforms, it’s clear that the opportunity to grow by more closely aligning our branded content and licensing assets is the right path,” said Knell in a statement. “We now will have the scale and reach to continue to fulfill our mission long into the future.”

“We’re working hard to focus our portfolio on brands that have unquestionable consumer appeal,” said 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch also in a statement. “This expanded partnership, bringing together all of the media and consumer activities under the National Geographic umbrella, one of the most treasured names in the world, creates vast opportunities and enables this business to be even more successful in a digital environment.”

The additional resources, which will bring the Society’s endowment to close to $1 billion, will enable it to double its investment in an array of science, research and education programs.

Plans include the creation of the National Geographic Grosvenor Center for Education, dedicated to improving the geographic skills of high school students, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence in Cartography, Journalism and Photography. The National Geographic Museum, thought- leader forums, and related programs will remain under the Society’s purview.

Read more: Deadline, The Washington Post

Image courtesy of Mashable via Flickr

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