Skift Take
Travel Channel is working hard to recreate its image and new concepts like these are what could turn those efforts into actual eyeballs.
Travel Channel thinks viewers may be interested in joining it for a road trip this fall, and it’s devoting 12-hours in a row to see if it’s hunch is correct.
The network announced today that it has acquired rights to the entertainment format pioneered in Norway and referred to as Slow TV, which shows a single perspective of a long-distance trip in real time.
Travel Channel will premiere its Slow TV concept with a 12-hour road trip airing on November 27. The exact route has not yet been revealed, but viewers will be able to tune in and follow the drive across the country. The channel does’t plan to associate on-air talent for the project.
The event lends itself to social media given its novelty and time frame.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Association, which created the concept, has applied the concept to a 500km rail journey, a 134-hour cruise trip, and burning wood. More than 70 percent of the Norwegian population watched the cruise ship iteration when it aired.
Travel Channel purchased another concept from Norway, which recently aired as Breaking Borders. The program follows journalist Mariana van Zeller and chef Michael Voltaggio to conflict destinations to share perspectives and meals between opposing sides.
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Tags: travel channel, tv
Photo credit: Death Valley outside a car's front windshield. CGP Grey / Flickr