Outside Television to Debut Five Original Series over Next Several Weeks in Support of Rapid National Rollout

WESTPORT, Conn.--()--Outside Television will debut five original series over the next several weeks in support of Comcast Xfinity and its other partnered systems’ brisk rollout of the new lifestyle channel for outside enthusiasts.

Outside Television’s five original series are:

  • Exclusive newsmagazine series “Dispatches,” based on the popular Outside Magazine feature of the same name, hosted by current CBS News and former MTV News and CNN correspondent Serena Altschul. Altschul will continue her contributions to “CBS Sunday Morning” while anchoring reports on emerging green initiatives, technology, environment stewardship and personalities spearheading those efforts.
  • New and exclusive adventure travelogue Surfing 28 States: India with Aussie surfers and filmmakers Jonno Durant and Stefan Hunt on a three-month journey, performing charitable works amid India’s diverse 28 states, while using rickshaws, yaks, waterslides and still other interesting means to “surf” even those that are landlocked.
  • The second of three series installments of adventure snow trilogy “Jeremy Jones Further” (following last season’s “Jeremy Jones Deeper”) with the legendary snowboarder taking himself and viewers to the world’s most thrilling runs and pushing everyone beyond.
  • “Reel Rock,“ an original series from Emmy-winning adventure filmmakers Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer, brings the best of the 300-city Reel Rock Film Tour to television for the first time. The two circle the world, capturing exhilarating sites and stories as top personalities in mountain adventure and rock climbing best the world’s most vertical terrain.
  • A new season of morning show “Outside Today” with in-studio guests and iconic action stars courtesy of a new programming alliance between Outside and Red Bull Media House formed in June. Guests include skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who became the first person to break the sound barrier during a record 24-mile freefall from a helium balloon above New Mexico as part of the Red Bull Stratos project on Oct. 14. “Survivor: Africa” winner Ethan Zohn returns to “Outside Today” as a contributor following a recent battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Created mid-year 2010, Outside Television had grown rapidly from its initial reach into America’s leading ski and beach resort communities to enjoy a national roll-out on Comcast XFinity systems begun last June and that’s already swept across the Pacific, Gulf Coast, Southeast, Great Lakes and into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. (Many specific cities listed below). The channel produces all of its original series and events exclusively in high definition and strives to capture the lush scope of adventure, action, travel, sports, discoveries, environmental and cultural issues, health, style and personalities that most intrigue the millions of people with a passion for the outdoors and the millions more who aspire to share it.

“We’re a new network that believes deeply in our responsibility to cultivate passion and then exceed its expectations,” says Rob Faris, senior vice president of programming & production for Outside. “We have great early support from recognized filmmakers, athletes, sponsors and authors, as well as one of America’s largest and most discerning TV providers. That collaboration will continue to drive this initial group of original series and several more to soon follow.”

Outside Television returns its two anchor programs “Outside Today” each morning on Nov. 5 and Dispatches each evening on Nov. 14, creating a daily promotion base to help launch weeklies “Surfing 28 States,” “Jeremy Jones Further” and “Reel Rock” during the weeks to follow. Adding original series in a late fall/early winter and late spring/early summer window enables Outside and partners to capitalize on film tours and events that are popular stops for the outside enthusiast community.

Half-hour “Dispatches” mirrors the pages of Outside Magazine’s feature news reporting of the same name. Host Serena Altschul anchors in-depth features about major initiatives and achievements including upcoming stories on Purple Heart recipient and world record skydiver Lee Hunnicutt; a day in the life of twin Mount Everest guides Willie and Damien Benegas; and blind mountain biker Matt Gilman.

Half-hourSurfing 28 States: India is an adventure travel series that documents a three-month sojourn by Aussie surfers and filmmakers Jonno Durrant and Stefan Hunt as they make their way across the 28 different states that make up modern day India. Similar to their work in Telluride Film Festival and X-Dance-recognized “Surfing 50 States: USA” and “Somewhere Near Tapachula,” the pair’s adventures introduce viewers to the complexities of India’s 1.2 billion inhabitants, 1,652 languages, 313 million deities and travels across the world’s worst back roads, including a brush with death in the Himalayas. It premieres mid-November.

Half-hour “Jeremy Jones Further” marks the return of snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones to Outside Television and premieres the week of December 15. “Further” is the second of a planned trilogy featuring Jones conquering the uncharted areas of the Austrian Alps, Arctic Circle and other ranges “Further” is a companion series to last season’s popular “Jeremy Jones Deeper,” and comes from award-winning producers Teton Gravity Research.

Half-hour “Reel Rock” comes from Sender Films and Big Up Productions, two of the leading producers of programming that balances action, spectacular locales and compelling characters with award winning cinematography. “Reel Rock” begins January 2013 and features action with New York City nine-year-old Ashima Shiraishi, already one of America’s top climbers; and free soloist Alex Honnold who attempts to traverse more than 7,000 vertical feet of granite without any ropes or support, among others.

Morning show “Outside Today” returns with on-set guests including skydiver and daredevil Felix Baumgartner and America’s most decorated male downhill skier Daron Ralhves, two of several Red Bull athletes who will now appear on Outside Today through a new wide-ranging programming alliance with Red Bull Media House. The two are currently developing more original series and other programs. Ethan Zohn, winner of CBS “Survivor: Africa,” returns to “Outside Today” after leaving Outside Television’s “The Buzz” when Hodgkin’s Lymphoma returned in 2010. Other guests include acclaimed journalist and documentarian Sebastian Junger (“The Perfect Storm,” “Fire” and “War”); and pro snowboarder, liver transplant survivor and Olympic medalist Chris Klug, among many others.

About Outside Television: Outside Television is the only national programming network dedicated to the active outside lifestyle and the more than 141 million Americans who regularly participate. Based on Outside Magazine and its critically acclaimed brand, Outside Television embraces running, biking, skiing, hiking, sailing, surfing, kayaking, snowshoeing and any other adventures involving wind, water, snow and terrain; as well as the full spectrum of the people’s lives who engage in them. Offering exclusively high-definition programs, Outside Television is fast becoming a fixture among leading cable, satellite, Telco and broadband providers’ sports and entertainment offerings. To learn more about Outside Television, visit www.outsidetelevision.com.

Outside Television is already available to approximately 8 million U.S. television homes in the following cities and on these noted local carriers:

 

New York (Brooklyn and the Bronx – Verizon FiOS)

Chicago (Comcast)

Dallas-Fort Worth (Comcast)

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (Comcast)

Boston (Comcast)

Atlanta-Savannah (Comcast)

Houston (Comcast)

Detroit (Comcast)

Seattle-Tacoma (Comcast)

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Jacksonville (Comcast)

Minneapolis-St. Paul (Comcast)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale (Comcast)

Denver (Comcast)

Cleveland-Akron (Comcast)

Orlando-Daytona Beach (Comcast)

Sacramento (Comcast)

Portland (Comcast)

Indianapolis (Comcast)

Salt Lake City (Comcast)

Tucson (Comcast)

Albuquerque-Santa Fe (Comcast)

Hartford-Vermont-New Hampshire (Comcast)

 

Contacts

Outside Television:
Thomas Tyrer, 310-874-0441
thomastyrer@circlechangemedia.com

Release Summary

Outside Television will debut five original series over the next several weeks in support of Comcast Xfinity and its other partnered systems’ brisk rollout.

Contacts

Outside Television:
Thomas Tyrer, 310-874-0441
thomastyrer@circlechangemedia.com