David Rubenstein will be the “title sponsor” of It’s Academic, John Kelly reports in the Washington Post. The billionaire tells Kelly that when he learned that Giant Food had decided this spring to end its 50-year-long sponsorship of the local quiz show, he agreed to step in “provided I don’t have to answer any of the questions.”
The Mitre Corporation will also sponsor the show, the Post reports.
It’s Academic has been on the air since 1961 and, despite losing its longtime studio in Tenleytown a couple years ago, will continue to be broadcast by NBC Washington. (It will begin production in National Harbor at some point, Kelly reports.)
The show is yet another local institution that Rubenstein has helped fund. Some of his previous beneficiaries include the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Kennedy Center, Arlington House, Mount Vernon, and the National Archives. He served as a guest quizmaster for the show for its 50th anniversary, as did Jim Vance, Katharine Weymouth, and Lynda Carter.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
