FremantleMedia and Starz announced today that Starz KIDS & FAMILY will become the U.S. wildlife refuge for the original live action kids' entertainment series from FremantleMedia, "Bindi's Bootcamp." Hosted by advocate and enthusiastic "Wildlife Warrior," Bindi Irwin, the series will take children on exhilarating adventures to get up close and personal with exotic animals of all types. BINDI'S BOOTCAMP, is set to premiere on Starz KIDS & FAMILY on Wednesday, May 1st at 6pm ET/PT.
The daughter of Steve and
Terri Irwin, Bindi has been surrounded by animals her whole life. She began traveling at a young age in conjunction with her father's famed "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries and inherited his passion for wildlife and conservation. Bindi received critical acclaim, along with a Daytime Emmy(R), in 2008 for her show "Bindi: The Jungle Girl." In 2010, she starred in her first movie, Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove. Most recently, she starred in "Return to Nim's Island" on
Hallmark Channel, which premiered earlier this month.
Shot on location at the iconic Australia Zoo, "Bindi's Bootcamp" is an exciting wildlife based game show where three teams comprised of two children each compete to win the prize of a lifetime - a trip with Bindi to participate in an Irwin Family conservation program. Journeying across zoo, jungle, safari and savannah locations, teams will become "Wildlife Warriors" in this adrenaline pumping adventure. Each episode opens with a dramatic race through the Australia Zoo, followed by a mental challenge and then concludes with an obstacle course. Teams will compete in these daring, often messy, and always exciting challenges, while encountering the Australia Zoo's amazing collection of indigenous and other exotic animals.
"With 'Bindi's Bootcamp,' we wanted to create a show that would test kids' mental prowess, endurance and inner strength, all while inspiring them to respect
Nature and conservation," said Sander Schwartz, President, FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment. "STARZ KIDS & FAMILY is dedicated to bringing unique and rich shows to families across America, and they will be the perfect home for this incredible wildlife adventure."
"STARZ KIDS & FAMILY is excited to bring such a unique and adventure filled series to our afternoon block of programming specially designed for young audiences," says Brett Marottoli, Executive Director Programming Acquisitions for Starz.
"Bindi's Bootcamp" is produced by FremantleMedia Australia and Sticky Pictures. FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment manages global brand licensing and distribution rights for the show. "Bindi's Bootcamp" premiered in July 2012 on Network ABC3 in Australia. The show was rated up to 122% above the broadcaster's average for the key target demo of children aged 5-12, and did exceptionally well among girls, winning shares of 25% for girls 0-15, performing 108% over the broadcaster's average.
In addition to the upcoming premiere on
Starz KIDS & FAMILY on May 1st in the U.S., "Bindi's Bootcamp" is currently on air in more than 15 territories across Asia on Discovery Kids, and is expected to begin airing later this year in Italy on Rai. FremantleMedia has been the global multi-platform entertainment partner of Australia Zoo and Terri, Bindi and
Robert Irwin since 2010, with a focus on developing new opportunities in television and licensing. For more information on FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment, please visit www.fremantlemedia.com/enterprises/kids.
About FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia is one of the leading creators, producers and distributors of television entertainment brands in the world. FremantleMedia is part of RTL Group, the leading European entertainment network, which is in turn 92 percent owned by the international media company Bertelsmann. FremantleMedia is responsible for many of the world's highest rated prime time entertainment, drama, serial drama, factual entertainment and kids & family programming, with market leading capabilities that extend from content creation to licensing, digital and branded entertainment, gaming and home entertainment. The FremantleMedia Group (which includes FremantleMedia North America, UFA, FremantleMedia UK, FremantleMedia Australia, Ludia, @radical.media and Original Productions, among others) has one of the most comprehensive global networks with operations in 22 countries, creating over 9,200 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 60 formats and managing over 300 individual titles. The company also distributes more than 20,000 hours of content in over 150 countries. FremantleMedia has some of the world's most sought after and long running formats in its catalogue, and globally produces such programmes as: Idols (co-produced with 19 Productions in the US), Hole In The Wall, Got Talent (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US),
The X Factor (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), Take Me Out, Family Feud, The Price is Right, Farmer Wants A Wife, Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, and Neighbours. www.fremantlemedia.com
About FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment
FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment was founded in 2009 and has quickly become a worldwide leader in the family entertainment business. With 15 titles in production in collaboration with top producers on four continents, FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment is already one of the most prolific independent producers and distributors of content in the sector today. Its growing portfolio of content spans across four key genres: preschool, kid's comedy, action/adventure and tween/teen fare. FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment is bringing to networks around the world innovative and exciting shows for television and new media platforms that feature live-action, 2D animation, CGI, stop-motion, puppetry and real-time animation with programming targeting demographics ranging in scope from preschool through high school.
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ(R) and ENCORE(R) pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of December 31, 2012,
Starz and
Encore serve a combined 56 million subscribers, including 21 million at STARZ, and 35 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ(R) and ENCORE(R), along with
Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX(R), air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through
Starz PLAY,
Encore PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY.
Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television.
Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.
Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
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