Wildlife Specialist Love Nature Marks 10 Years With Global Expansion, Leadership Promotion (EXCLUSIVE)

As a supporter of Love Nature, I can’t help but feel a sense of awe and admiration for Alison Barrat, who has proven herself to be a trailblazer in the world of wildlife and nature programming. Her dedication, creativity, and vision have transformed Love Nature from a Canadian specialty pay TV channel into a globally recognized brand that reaches millions of households worldwide.


Love Nature, the wildlife and nature channel, is marking its 10-year milestone with a special offer and high aspirations for worldwide expansion in the future.

Blue Ant Media has promoted Alison Barrat, their Senior Vice President of Production and Development, to the position of Senior Vice President, Head of Content. This move comes as the company achieves significant milestones in international distribution and content partnerships. In her expanded role, Barrat will oversee Love Nature’s global content strategy, encompassing original commissioning, acquisitions, programming, and marketing on a global scale.

Barrett will still be supervised by Carlyn Staudt, who has recently been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President of Global Channels and Streaming at Blue Ant Media. In this new role, she is now responsible for driving the expansion of the company’s collection of international channels. Meanwhile, James Manfull, in his commissioning editor capacity, and Katie Murdock, as executive producer, will continue to report to Barrett.

According to Staudt, Alison has significantly improved the quality, range, and modern relevance of original shows on Love Nature. This is evident in her new position as Head of Content, which represents a logical step forward given the remarkable outcomes she’s produced.

The promotion comes as Love Nature marks a decade of evolution from its origins as a Canadian specialty pay TV channel. The brand is now available in 110 countries, 29 languages, and across both pay TV and streaming platforms in 4K. It reaches approximately 400 million households worldwide through branded linear and online platforms as well as content partnerships.

Reflecting on the 10-year milestone, Barrat muses that the real excitement lies in the journey itself. Each step, he notes, felt like a fresh challenge, prompting him to think, “Well, what’s the solution here?

In 2017, Staudt, who had spent two decades at National Geographic before joining, embarked on transforming the channel’s content strategy. Reflecting on the initial stages of assembling the U.S. team, she remembers Alison as her third hire. “Alison was my third employee,” she stated. “I sought someone to work alongside me, a collaborator, and Alison was the one who joined me in this content-focused adventure from the start.

2020 marked a pivotal moment for me as a film enthusiast, with Love Nature seizing the opportunity presented by the burgeoning Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) market in the U.S. As Staudt puts it, “We took the plunge and moved aggressively into that space.” In essence, we skipped the pay TV route entirely and dove headfirst into FAST streaming in the States first.

The move paid off, with Love Nature finding success on FAST despite skepticism about 24/7 wildlife programming’s viability in the U.S. market. “Audiences came to our FAST channels like you wouldn’t believe, and we really, really grew that audience quite quickly,” Staudt notes.

Regarding content creation, Love Nature has been pioneering creative methods in natural history programming. Notably, they’ve produced shows such as “Survival of the Beast,” where survivalist Max Djenohan studies animal behaviors, and “The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge,” a competition series that explores bears preparing for hibernation.

Barrat expresses that exploring innovative methods for storytelling, collaborating with various partners and production firms to maintain the genre’s vitality, has proven to be an exciting yet challenging endeavor for him.

The company has broadened its pool of television personalities, collaborating with individuals such as Lizzie Daly, Dan O’Neill, and Djenohan to offer new viewpoints in natural history programming. As Barrat explains, “One of our strengths lies in presenting a wide array of diverse, fresh talent on the channel that reflects the entire world – it’s a global channel, so we aim for global faces that mirror our worldwide audience.

In the future, Love Nature has plans for expansion beyond its current boundaries, focusing significantly on the Asia-Pacific market. Last year, the company launched an APAC business, setting up offices in Sydney and Singapore. Staudt expresses that “Asia is a very dynamic period with innovative approaches to content delivery, and we aim to be more substantially involved.

Staudt mentioned that it’s not just about growing beyond our primary nature-focused channel, but also our goal is to adapt Love Nature into various other genres and create additional content brands which we can generate income from in multiple formats,” (Paraphrased)

In the realm of technological innovation, Love Nature is gearing up for a possible transition towards 8K production and dissemination, while being mindful of the hurdles in workflow and consumer acceptance. “We currently capture a lot of footage in 8K,” Staudt explains. “There are some technological improvements and widespread industry adoption that need to occur. However, be assured that in this niche, we will be present when that happens and fully prepared.

In terms of technological advancements, Love Nature is gearing up for the possible transition towards 8K production and broadcasting, while being aware of the hurdles related to workflow and consumer acceptance. “We currently capture a lot in 8K,” Staudt explains. “There are some technical improvements and widespread industry adoption that need to occur. However, be assured that in this niche, we will be well-positioned when that occurs and fully prepared.

The business is additionally investigating possibilities on up-and-coming technologies such as virtual reality goggles. As Staudt points out, “We’re aiming to connect with our audience in the places where they spend their time, and that’s a fresh, thrilling realm.

In its second decade, Love Nature is poised for expansion and success according to Barrat and Staudt. Barrat expresses a sense of excitement about the genre’s future, saying, “I truly believe this is a positive development. I am very optimistic about what lies ahead.” He continues, “I know our audience exists, and we are consistently producing top-quality, visually stunning, and relevant content. I can’t wait to see what’s next for us and where the media landscape takes us. I have confidence that we will be there, and it will be an enjoyable ride.

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2024-10-09 08:17