Sunday, April 16, 2006

Travel Channel New Season of 5 TAKES Includes Australia And The Pacific Rim

Season 2 of 5 TAKES Sets Course for a New Season in Australia and the Pacific Rim

Travel Channel has announced the location and the five travelers who will serve as the Travel Journalists (TJs) for Season 2 of 5 TAKES, the international travel series that lets viewers craft the itinerary. The travelers for 5 TAKES: PACIFIC RIM are: Tony Martin, 26, of Washington D.C.; Tiffany Burnett, 24, of Cathedral City, California; Gabriel Schirm, 24, of Ft. Collins, Colorado; Renee O′Connor, 24, of Brooklyn, New York and Josh Gibson, 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The second season of 5 TAKES, which capitalizes on the real-time advantages of internet/television convergence, will begin in Australia before setting off on a journey throughout the Pacific Rim. Each traveler will be equipped with a Mini DV camera and laptop editing facilities to produce independent short daily blogs and weekly vlogs of their experiences for the Travel Channel website http://travelchannel.com. As they journal their individual perspectives, a production crew will film their entire journey for the weekly serie: airing on Travel Channel. In addition to the interaction through the blogs and vlogs, viewers and web visitors will determine two of the twelve cities visited during 5 TAKES: PACIFIC RIM.

"The 5 TAKES franchise is a bold step by the Travel Channel into the popular world of user generated content, and it presents a unique interactive viewing experience," said Pat Younge, EVP & GM, Travel Channel. "Like no other show on cable, 5 TAKES affords viewers the opportunity to interact directly with the participants to set the itinerary for the weekly series. In addition to the interactive elements, the weekly television show is turned around within seven days of the TJs leaving each city, making 5 TAKES a near real-time travel joumal, as well as the most convergent prime time series on a major US cable network."

In a first for Discovery Networks US, Season 2 of 5 TAKES premiered Thursday, March 2 at http://travelchannel.com, with a seven-part web episode roll out featuring the casting process. The TJs will began their blogs and vlogs the week of March 13. Over 8,000 initial applicants led to 600 video submissions. Four of the final travelers were selected following face-to-face casting meetings and one was chosen via an online consumer vote.