No—none of the original shows have ever been aired.
All original show episodes run roughly 22 minutes and were produced and edited in ProRes HD 1080p with broadcast-quality stereo mixes. Additionally, shows are available in textless form (with accompanying split audio tracks) for any international dubbing and formatting needs.
It depends on the show. Globe Trekker, Planet Food, and other HD properties have been broadcast on dozens of European cable channels, from the well-known (e.g. France5) to some specialized outlets (e.g. RTV Slovenia). In America, these properties mostly aired on PBS and similar channels. Overall, they are better known in Europe than in the US; therefore, for practical purposes, these shows are “new” to most American viewers.
For our original material, there is nothing to speak of because they have never been aired.
For our classics, we don’t have a lot to go on apart from the longevity of most of the series. Globe Trekker, for example, has been on the air for over 25 years. It’s such a beloved institution—one that is tied to Lonely Planet in many viewers’ minds—that even the theme song is posted as a standalone video on YouTube. However, we don’t have access to ratings or performance metrics for these properties.
None of the shows have exclusive licenses with anyone—neither broadcast nor streaming—so nothing is encumbered by rights restrictions.
Globe Trekker is the only show in the above list that has had any existing non-exclusive licenses. Some of Globe Trekker‘s HD seasons (S13–S17) still have varying licensing deals in place.
Globe Trekker is the only series with 50-minute (“hour-long”) episodes. Additionally, all World Café Middle East episodes are 50 minutes. The rest of the catalogue are all 22–26-minute (“half-hour”) episodes.
For our originals, we have a few: Tom Morgan (founder and face of The Adventurists), Filipe Leite (internationally celebrated horseman and best-selling author), and Mikael Strandberg (renowned explorer and tour guide).
For the classics, we have beloved travel presenters like Ian Wright, Megan McCormick, Holly Morris, Zay Harding, Angela May, Bobby Chinn, and several more.
Some episodes of Planet Food feature Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi and Food Network star Tyler Florence.
Additionally, some episodes of Treks in a Wild World feature future Oscar-nominee Bradley Cooper, who even visits a nudist colony in one of the episodes. It doesn’t get better than a young Bradley Cooper looking for sea lions while kayaking in Alaska and saying “Who’s hiding? Who’s hiding from Uncle Bradley?”
Absolutely. We have benchmarked our output costs and are very cost-efficient. We have great in-house capabilities and an extensive network of professionals to tap into: producers, editors, show captains, GFX / colorists, audio mixers—you name it.