Animal Planet
Network Overview
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications LLC, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized, online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the number one pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.
TELEVISION SERIES/SPECIALS: The following series/specials reflect Animal Planet's top series and specials for Spring 2012:
RIVER MONSTERS: SEASON FOUR, Premieres Sunday, April 1 at 9 PM (ET/PT), Airs Sundays at 10 PM (ET/PT), TV-PG
For three successful seasons of Animal Planet's RIVER MONSTERS, extreme angler Jeremy Wade has taken viewers along as he unravels freshwater fish tales of giant killers, where sometimes fact really is stranger than fiction! Animal Planet's best-performing series in network history returns for a fourth season, following Wade on a worldwide search for harrowing stories of bloodthirsty fish. A fearless explorer, he aims to hook the finned culprits that are thought to attack humans and reveal how much truth lies in the legends.
TANKED: SEASON TWO, World Premiere Saturday, April 14 at 9 PM (ET/PT)
TANKED returns with all-new episodes that dunk viewers into the rowdy, family-owned business of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM), one of the country's leading and most successful builders of aquariums. ATM is led by brothers-in-law, business partners, best friends and rivals, Wayde King and Brett Raymer, and is housed in a state-of-the-art, cavernous facility located in the center of Sin City. ATM literally has created thousands of enormous, jaw-dropping aquarium builds and conceptual tanks for ordinary Joes and high-profile clients alike. This season, the guys must wade into the deep end to come up with creative solutions for some of the most outrageous and challenging builds they've ever tackled from a mobile school bus tank to a functional pinball machine tank and everything in between.
WHALE WARS: VIKING SHORES, World Premiere Friday, April 27at 9 PM(ET/PT)
In the North Atlantic, between Iceland and Scotland, lays a chain of islands with picturesque beaches and rolling green hills. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing Danish territory of 50,000 people - descendants of Vikings, bound by proud tradition, who have fished these waters for thousands of years. But there is a dark shadow over this beautiful land. Every year, Faroese people gather to herd pilot whales to their shallow shores to be killed for their meat, which is a food source. WHALE WARS: VIKING SHORES, a new five-part series, documents "Operation Ferocious Islands," Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's whale defense campaign as they set sail to end this ancient tradition known as "The Grind" - Faroese for "whale drive" - that takes place every summer. With more than 20 killing beaches spread across 18 islands, stopping this hunt won't be easy. For the first time in the history of the WHALE WARS saga, the Sea Shepherds are not only at sea but also deploying a covert team to patrol the streets, interact with locals and carry out undercover missions. Each one-hour episode follows the Sea Shepherd's land-air-sea campaign led by Paul Watson as they try to find the whales before the locals do. A hunt can happen at any moment, and the Sea Shepherds are vastly outnumbered in a new kind of face-to-face battle.
MONSTER WEEK, Monday, May 21- Monday, May 28
MONSTER WEEK is a jam-packed, monster filled week, showcasing the legendary creatures from wildly popular shows like RIVER MONSTERS, FINDING BIGFOOT and CALL OF THE WILDMAN. Boasting all-new episodes of these fan-favorite programs, MONSTER WEEK gives behind-the-scenes access to the monster hunters and their hunts and digs deeper into our fascination with these creatures. MONSTER WEEK delves into two new mysteries: one involves the hunt and capture of a 20-foot MAN-EATING SUPER CROC, and the other focuses on the possible existence of mermaids. MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND is the crescendo of the epic week with a two-hour CGI investigation into the probability of mermaids swimming throughout our waters. It explores a scientific theory that supports the existence of mermaids, and the film imagines how they really appear, how they evolved and the role they play beneath the water's surface. With action and intrigue, MONSTER WEEK takes viewers on an adventure that promises to astound and delight the imagination.
WHALE WARS, Series Returns in June
Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society return for a fifth adrenaline-fueled season of WHALE WARS, one of Animal Planet's most-talked-about, best-performing and award-winning series to date. WHALE WARS documents the Sea Shepherds' ongoing whale defense campaign in the Southern Ocean as they wage a high-risk battle and masterful chess match to find and stop Japanese ships from hunting whales in the name of research. After last year's victorious campaign over the Japanese, the Sea Shepherds thought they had ended whaling in the Southern Ocean once and for all. But surprisingly, the Japanese are returning stronger than ever, and this time, they come with a military convoy and zero tolerance for the conservation group. Anticipating the battle of a lifetime, the Sea Shepherds once again are trolling the Antarctic with surprise tactics, intense strategy and unparalleled passion.
CALL OF THE WILDMAN, Series Returns in June
CALL OF THE WILDMAN returns this summer with 16 new "snapperlicious" episodes, featuring the bare-handed, back-woods animal-trapping skills of "Turtleman" Ernie Brown, Jr. For the past three decades, Turtleman has been diving into Kentucky's murkiest ponds in search of feisty snapping turtles capable of biting through bone. Accompanied by his canine companion, Lolly, and armed with country wits as sharp as the steel blade he carries, aptly named "Thunder," Turtleman has the uncanny ability to catch monster- snapping turtles with his bare hands and return them to the wild unscathed. Now busier than ever, Turtleman and his pal Neal James are back on the road, eradicating local homes and businesses of pesky critters including muskrats, skunks, squirrels, beavers, river otters, possums and even wild coyotes. But this year, they aren't staying within state lines. Turtleman expands his live-action repertoire and travels to Louisiana and other locations, meeting new characters and responding to the toughest and most dangerous nuisance calls of his career. No job is too tough or dangerous for Turtleman, and his years of bonding with wild animals allow him to use his animal instincts to save them.
MY CAT FROM HELL, Series Returns in June
Cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy returns for a new season of MY CAT FROM HELL to take on the most catastrophic cat cases anyone has ever encountered. For the first time, Galaxy is taking his cat-listening skills on the road to New York City, the city that never sleeps. Armed with more than 15 years of experience, a proven training program and his signature guitar case filled with cat toys, Galaxy is on a mission to help cat owners find the sources of conflict with their furry friends. In each episode, Galaxy swoops in to solve a gamut of feline-related issues and repair the relationships they're ruining. Whether it's the cats or the owners behaving badly, leave it to Galaxy to save the day!
GATOR BOYS, Series Returns in June
Follow the death-defying exploits of Paul Bedard and Jimmy Riffle, two extraordinary alligator trappers who risk injury and death to hand capture nuisance alligators that have invaded the backyards, swimming pools, garages and bedrooms of Florida Everglades' residents. The duo gets face-to-face with ferocious alligators whose jaws have 3,500 pounds of crushing power per square inch. The goal of GATOR BOYS Alligator Rescue is to get alligators out of harm's way before they are captured and killed by rival trappers, who then kill the gators and sell them for their skins and meat.
UNIVERSE
Animal Planet's entertaining blend of animal-centric programming helped it become one of the fastest-growing new cable television networks ever. It now reaches more than 96 million households (Nielsen Universe Estimate, April 2012)
RESEARCH
Among U.S. consumers, Animal Planet ranks among the top 20 media brands in terms of overall equity out of 92 television media brands measured. Animal Planet also places among the top 20 media brands based on trust. [Equitrend, 2011]
Animal Planet finished the first quarter of 2012 with record-setting achievements, delivering its best quarter ever among P2+ viewers (441K) and Households (355K) in total day. The network also had its best quarter ever among M25-54 in both prime (156K) and total day (97K), up 36% and 26% compared to year-ago respectively.
Posting double-digit gains over last year in prime among key demos, Animal Planet earned its strongest first-quarter prime ratings in eight years among P2+ viewers (667K, +14% ) and in nine years among HH (500K, +17% ).
In first quarter, FINDING BIGFOOT experienced a strong second season, averaging 1.4M P2+ viewers, up 15% vs. season one. The FINDING BIGFOOT episodes "Baby Bigfoot" and "Buckeye Bigfoot" each brought in 1.6M P2+ viewers and rank as the series' most-watched episodes ever. Season to date, TOO CUTE! has exceeded 2011 premieres by more than 40% among P2+, delivering more than 1.1M viewers.
COMMERCE
Building on the success of the network, Animal Planet consumer products continue to grow having received the U.S. Corporate Brand of the Year Award from the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) in 2011. Animal Planet merchandise reaches consumers through its unique products including kid's toys, pet products and lifestyle goods. From hit shows and DVDs to AnimalPlanetStore.com and licensed-branded products available at retailers nationwide, the values of the Animal Planet brand is reflected throughout its product lines. Leveraging the success of the hit series River Monsters(should it be in caps as show title?), Animal Planet is launching launched a complete line of fishing gear at retailers nationwide, in addition to the two books published and fan site on AnimalPlanetStore.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of branded merchandise goes to the principle partners of R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond), dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild.
R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond)
Animal Planet has partnered with leading animal organizations through R.O.A.R (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) to inspire viewers to take action and be a voice for animals. The campaign aligns Animal Planet with a powerful roster of leading animal and environmental organizations which has included The American Humane Association; Earthwatch Institute; the National Wildlife Federation (NWF); Petfinder.com Foundation; Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute; Villalobos Rescue Center; EcoZone at South Shore Natural Science Center; and Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide.
Since April 2011, Animal Planet and GlobalGiving have been working together to increase fundraising opportunities for participants in R.O.A.R. This partnership allows participating R.O.A.R. charities to raise additional funds online from consumers while also continuing to receive donations through the sale of Animal Planet's consumer products.
Animal Planet's multi-platform initiatives also include Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest searchable directory of adoptable pets on the web. Petfinder's directory includes more than 13,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, helping users search for local pets that fit their individual needs and preferences.
EXECUTIVES
Marjorie Kaplan, President and General Manager, Animal Planet Media, President, Science Channel
MEDIA CONTACTS
Patricia Kollappallil, Vice President, Communications
Ph: 240-662-2969 E: Patricia_Kollappallil@discovery.com
Brian Eley, Senior Director, Communications
Ph: 212-548-5153 E: Brian_Eley@discovery.com
Tahli Kouperstein, Director, Communications
Ph: 240-662-2221 E: Tahli_Kouperstein@discovery.com
Jared Albert, Publicist
Ph: 212-548-5390 E: Jared_Albert@discovery.com
Matthew Windsor, Publicity Assistant
Ph: 240-662-6781 E: Matthew_Windsor@discovery.com
Grace Suriel, Manager, Social Media and Strategy
Ph: 240-662-5781 E: Grace_Suriel@discovery.com
Bonita Lynch, Communications Consultant
Ph: 347-306-2774 E: bonita@bonitalynchpr.com
PARENT COMPANY: Discovery Communications, LLC. Silver Spring, MD
BROADCAST HOURS: 24 hours per day
LAUNCH DATE: October 1, 1996
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