Dr Chris Brown.
WTFN Entertainment’s observational documentary Bondi Vet is assured of a wide audience in the US after Discovery’s cable channel Animal Planet acquired the first six series.
Animal Planet has 93 million subscribers in the US. WTFN produced eight seasons of the show, which features vets Chris Brown, Lisa Chimes and Andrew Marchevsky plus wildlife expert Tim Faulkner, for Network Ten.
The series has been airing on Animal Planet across Europe for the past few years. The US deal was brokered by Warren Sevel, Los Angeles-based sales executive for WTFN’s distribution arm Fred Media.
Sevel said: “Bondi Vet is consistently delivering a fantastic result for broadcasters all around the world and now Animal Planet US viewers can experience one of the world’s most successful vet programs.”
Last year WTFN began the hunt for a new host as Brown had to relinquish the role due to other commitments.
After sifting through thousands of nominations and tens of thousands of votes from viewers, the company decided the post would be shared by four vets: Alex Hynes (Queensland), Danni Dusek (Victoria), Lewis Hunt (New South Wales) and the winner of the public vote, Peter Ricci (Western Australia).
Ten has not commissioned another series but WTFN CEO Daryl Talbot tells IF: “We have interest in the next season from a couple of other broadcasters here and abroad.”