Welcome to Outdoors TV

Post number one on the Outdoors TV blog!

Outdoors TV is launching to the public in spring 2009. It will be a channel for all outdoors enthusiasts of the UK/European variety, rather the US type (with fishing & hunting etc). That's not to say we disapprove of these pastimes or don't want North American viewers, it's just that over here outdoors is mostly about camping, walking, mountaineering etc & over there, it has a different meaning, so we just want to make that clear from the outset!

Outdoors TV will cover mountaineering, rock climbing, walking, hiking, wild camping, mountain biking, canoeing & kayaking, triathlon, trail & fell running &, in fact, any other pursuit or issue that will be of interest to outdoors people. There will be documentaries, magazine programmes, event coverage & destination profiles. The channel is for the adult audience &, as such, will show proper programmes, not just video clips or DVD promos.

Everything that goes on the channel will have been produced specifically for Outdoors TV. You might think of it as a kind of BBC for outdoors enthusiasts, just without all the celebrity dancing! We're committed to producing interesting material that will provide informative entertainment for those times when you can't be outside.

We're forming links all the time with organisations who can help us get the style & content just right for each interest group & we're also open to invitations from clubs & organisations to make programmes with or about them. Inclusion is a big issue for us & we want all outdoors enthusiasts to feel that Outdoors TV is THEIR channel.

So how will it all work? We'll, for starters, in the UK & Europe, outdoor pursuits are largely free (apart from buying the kit you need). So, it seems logical that, to gain & keep our audience's support, the programmes should be free to view & that's the way it will be! No registering, no loging on, no passwords. Just go to the site & watch, because, after all, that's what you do in the outdoors. You don't go to the base of Helvelyn & enter your username & password into the stile to start your walk, so we don't want to put any obstacles in your way before watching our programmes.

What this does mean is that we will be including commercial elements in the programmes themselves, which will basically allow us to exist! Producing original programmes costs a lot of money & we think it is better to sell a little product placement or to have a programme sponsored by an appropriate organisation & to keep our independence & free programming.

In reality, commercialisation of programmes will have a minimal impact on the viewer's experience. Almost all outdoors DVDs have some form of sponsorship & this doesn't detract from the subject or the endeavour.

We will also be managing expectations in order that the channel can grow organically, which is the way we preserve our principles & deliver quality programmes. When you try to provide a daily schedule of programmes from scratch, that's when the quality & originality starts to slip. So, from the outset, we will be aiming to deliver a new programme every week & as the channel grows, so too will the variety of the schedule.

We hope our viewers will understand our desire to provide only new material & that this takes time to produce. We also hope that they will appreciate that this channel offers them something new & that in the long term, with their support, Outdoors TV will be a channel delivering an exciting schedule of programmes to satisfy their needs.

We'll be charting the channel's progress over the next six months in this Blog, giving you an insight into developments leading up to the launch. There are sample programmes showing on the channel already, so do take a look, if you haven't done so already. Otherwise, I'll see you next time.

Roger Burlinson
Director of Programming - Outdoors TV