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From: Christian Knaebel
The channel WildearthTV caught my attention for two reasons: first, I am a big fan of wildlife explorations and a nature enthusiast - and I guess in that I am very similar to many folks here in Germany or for my generation at large. Secondly, the Wildearth TV has really impressed me with their successfull approach to TV 2.0 and how they created a huge following around the globe via internet streaming, social media and interaction.
My love for nature and wildlife goes back to my childhood years. Almost every Sunday morning, my father took my younger brother and me out for a little excursion. We lived in the countryside and "nature" was right at our doorsteps.
My father usually brought along his Super8 camera and we sneaked through the woods and fields like those explorers that we loved to watch on television. We approached little rabbits, shy deers and elegant storchs like they were lions, zebras or hippos. It was fun and entertaining - and at the same time it taught us to appreciate the beauty, uniqueness and richness of nature and wildlife. Both my brother and I became avid support of environmental causes and still love to explore nature.
Nevertheless, natural habitats are scare treasures nowadays and especially in Europe hard to find. Our interest goes beyond our direct neighbourhood and we look at adventures in Americas, Africa or Asia. The wildlife of Africa in specific is what every nature-lover dreams off. And I guess, many would love to be on a safari in the Kalahari, Krueger NationalPark or Serengeti at one point in life (I personally still plan to climb Mount Kilimanjaro one day). However, getting there is not easy and cheap. So, what do you do? You buy books and magazines, you watch TV and videos about this fantastic part of the world.
And now there is Wildearth TV: they bring you the nature right into your home. It is live and it is original. No day is the same - like in nature. I can follow the rangers four or five times a day on their excursions into the wild heart of Africa. I see them observing a flok of lions on the hunt, a elephant mother nursing her baby or a group of elegant gazelles on the run.
Even more fascinating is the fact, that I can interact with the guys at Wildearth TV. I can post questions about what they observe, I can chat and become involved. It is almost like I am there in person and sometimes I hold my breath like I am myself now only a few feet away from that giraffe, gepard or monkey.
The Wildearth TV team let you be part of their experience almost 24/7. I can participate in virtual firesite chats and I can be a fan of one or more of the animals that are featured regularly on the screen. For instance, some of the "main characters" have their own Facebook Fanpage: there is "xxx" the lion who has already yxyxxyxy fans, and ,,,, the mmmm
I can follow them on twitter as well and they can become part of my life - without me travelling there at all or even endangering these species.
Wildearth TV managed to become a truly wholesome experience. Once you get the hang of it, you are really hooked. It is something that many other TV offers have yet to reach. In my opinion, it is an offer that is extremely attractive for platforms and operators that have multiple distribution venues: you can involve your audience with Wildearth TV not only as a linear channel in your TV bouquets, but also get the audience attention on broadband (via having a dedicated Wildlife Portal, for instance, or specific download features of videos, etc) and you can involve them on mobile or VoD.
Many, many people are nature enthusiasts like me and love to have that fresh breeze of adventure, nature and clean air. Bring it to them at their desk, sofa or wherever they are with Wildearth TV.
This is how Ck takes it :-)
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