Dated: 14 October 2008
Lonely Planet Television (LPTV), Beach House Pictures (BHP) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) today announce the launch of a new 13-part flagship television series LONELY PLANET: Roads Less Travelled, in conjunction with broadcaster National Geographic International and distributor BBC Worldwide.
LONELY PLANET: Roads Less Travelled is an exciting cross-platform travel adventure franchise featuring for the first time real-life Lonely Planet authors on the job as they scour the world’s roads less travelled in search of the latest and greatest travel experiences on earth. Lonely Planet founder and legendary independent traveller Tony Wheeler is slated to be one of the four authors featured in the new series.
“Everybody thinks being paid to travel is one the best gigs in the world but at Lonely Planet we know it’s a really tough job,” said Head of Lonely Planet Television Laurence Billiet. “In this series for the first time on television we’ll reveal behind-the-scenes what it’s really like to be a Lonely Planet author.”
LONELY PLANET: Roads Less Travelled will premiere on the Nat Geo Adventure channel in 2009 in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Australia, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. A cross-platform initiative, the new series will be supported by a website showcasing the itineraries featured in the TV series as well as complementary Lonely Planet destination content and travel services. Over time, the multi-platform franchise is expected to span DVD, mobile and web-TV.
The series will be co-produced with Beach House Pictures, who have worked with Lonely Planet on a number of television productions since signing an exclusive agreement with LPTV in 2005 to co-produce all Lonely Planet-branded television series in Singapore.
“We’re excited by the opportunity to join forces with the Media Development Authority of Singapore, National Geographic and BBC Worldwide for the first time on such a major flagship series,” said Jocelyn Little, Managing Director, Beach House Pictures. “All the partners believe strongly in the potential of this unique series, and expect it to turn into an on-going multi-media franchise”, added Laurence Billiet.
“Lonely Planet is a cultural icon well-loved by many all over the world. This is a wonderful opportunity for Beach House to co-produce with well-known international partners who share the same vision of delivering quality content on multiple platforms to the global audiences and showcase the world’s best travel experiences to the world,“ said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, MDA.
LONELY PLANET
Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel media outfit - reaching a vast audience through book sales in excess of 6.5 million per year, an online audience of 5 million visitors a month, television programmes broadcast to more than 100 countries. Lonely Planet Television develops and produces a range of travel-related programming for international broadcasters, including Discovery, National Geographic, Current TV, Eurosport, Channel 5 Mediacorp and SBS.
BEACH HOUSE PICTURES
Beach House Pictures is a Singapore based production company specialising in factual entertainment for international broadcasters including Discovery, National Geographic, Sony Pictures and Mediacorp Channel 5. In 2005 it signed a ground-breaking production agreement to produce all Lonely Planet productions in Singapore. In 2008 Beach House joined forces with internationally acclaimed documentary maker Natural History New Zealand (NHNZ).
MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Global Media City and positioning it at the forefront of the digital media age. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote developments in film, video, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation, media services and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.
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