Outdoor Channel

[daddywpb]

We finally made the plunge and got Direct TV. I'm  still wallowing in the Outdoor Channel programs - there's always something good on to watch. But I noticed something they all have in common. They always seem to be on guided hunts with an outfitter, on somebody's ranch or private property. Personally, I'd like to see something more realistic for guys like myself. How about some hunts on public WMA's where the only chance to scout is the day before the season opens, and you are joined by a couple hundred other hunters on opening morning? Somewhere where they have to do more than follow the guide to a proven tree stand and sit back and wait. Let's see how many Pope & Young record book deer Bill Jordan can find then. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching all those shows and seeing really BIG deer, and I don't doubt the host's shooting and woodsmanship skills, but.....let's get real. How many of us can afford to do that kind of hunting? Maybe they could start with going onto public hunting land that you've never been to before, and explain how to find food sources, bedding areas,  good stand locations, etc. I think that a couple episodes of public land hunting would hit home for a lot of folks.

[jhm]

daddywpb :  Man do I ever agree with you, however most of those shows are in the 60 min format and they have to get enough tape filled with ACTION so as to keep you watching those shows, no t elling how many hours they spend in those deer condos filming so they can have enough film to make a 60 min show, what they are doing is a business and it is a business to advertize products and various places to hunt, do you really think most of them are paying the regular fee to hunt no they are either there free or at a reduced rate so as to advertize and tell all hunters what to use this year and where to go this year, oh well just enjoy the show and remember its entertainment and that someone has a real nice JOB..    JIM

[huntsman]

Maybe that's why our family did away with cable TV. Frankly, I don't have the time to sit in front of a TV and watch someone else "hunt". I'd rather be fixing up my blind, cutting one more sight lane through the brush, or just sitting there watching that squirrel chatter and that jay cracking acorns. I've had the pleasure of killing some very decent deer on unmanaged land, but they've all come as a direct result of spending lots of quality time in the woods. If you're not there and prepared when daddy deer shows up, you can't kill him. And you cannot predict when he will arrive.

Those trophies are nice, don't get me wrong. They hang proudly in our family room. But they aren't what I really hunt for, and I don't need some TV program to show me what the hunting experience is all about. Turn off your dang TV and go spend some time in the woods, or practicing aiming with your rifle, or just studying those topo maps one more time. Anything but watching some commercialized "hunt". About how much hunting are they really doing if they're toting along a cameraman and a half-ton of photo gear that you never see?

[Zachary]

There's a show on the Outdoor channel called "Do it Yourself Hunter" - I think it's exactly what you're looking for.  It's regular folk that go on unguided hunts, on public land.  

I saw one episode the other day where one hunter got a really big buck - again, on public land!

Zachary

[denvas]

Gentlemen,

I think each of you has a very valid point, especially Huntsman and his advice to get outdoors and make your own adventures come true. But that having been said let’s look at TV hunting and fishing shows a minute.

I have been involved filming shows with various production companies for about 8 years now. We have filmed in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, New Zealand, various locations in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as all over the US. Now this may sound like a glamorous job to some, but let’s not forget the key phrase here, “job”. That is exactly what these shows are; and most publications, both hardcopy and online. They are money making ventures for the production companies, on air hosts, cameramen, video editors, writers, publishers, investment firms and of course the sponsors. Don’t think for one minute that the Outdoor Channel, TNN, Outdoor Life Network, the Sportsman’s Channel or any other TV, radio, online or printed venue would be in existence today if the people behind it weren’t making enough to compell them to continue doing so. So yes most of these shows take on the appearance of infomercials because that is how these guys make their money. And this is why most hardcopy publications only publish positive reviews of their sponsor’s products or lodges that have hosted their writers. After all if they don’t push their sponsor’s products then they won’t have any sponsors, then who would pay their salaries? And what hunting lodge, preserve or ranch is going to give a(n) animals(s) toward the effort of filming a show unless they are going to get advertisement out of it. None that I know of!

One of the reasons that so many of these guys go to high fenced operations, exclusive hunting lodges or exotic locals that most of us will never be able to afford is because these places can more or less guarantee them an animal. After all what would a hunting show be if those hosting the segments never harvested an animal or caught their fish? It would be pretty boring and they wouldn’t be able to hang on to their sponsors now would they? Is this the real world that the other 98% of us experience? Of course not, but then I haven’t met a producer yet that promised me realistic or average hunts. Why do they do this, once again, money. No animal equals no show equals no sponsors equals no money.

But just what is involved in the cost of producing a show? Let’s take a look at a worst case scenario of a trip to Africa, and this is not a comprehensive list;

Salary of the cameramen, often as much as $750.00 per day while filming and $350.00 a day while traveling..Usually 2 Cameramen on each trip
Camera Equipment could be as high as $75,000.00 per camera to purchase
Film/video cassettes usually around $10-15 a cassette - usually around 15-20 cassettes per trip - this can be as much as $300.00 per trip
Transportation costs to filming local to Africa can be as much as $2,500.00 each. A production company usually has at least 5 along on each trip. = $12,500.00
Licenses for hunters could be as much as $750.00 per hunter, 2 hunters = $1,500.00
Work Permits varies by country but will average $350.00/each; 5 on the trip = $1,750.00
Lodging/Meals are usually provided at the filming location but not always. Pre-trip and Post trip expenses are covered by production company; 5 people at an average of $250.00 = $1,250.00
Game Export fees various by animal. Each trip I have been on we took at least 6 animals each at an average of $650.00. So 6 animals would equal $3,900.00 times 2 hunters = $7,800.00.
Post trip editing costs can run as much as $25,000.00 per segment.

Therefore, our 10 day hunting trip would cost the production company, somewhere in the neighborhood of $70,000.00.

Then while on the trip they will usually film 20 to 40 hours of footage that is edited down to 13 to 18 minutes of air time on a 30 minute segment. The rest of the time is reserved for airing the sponsor’s commercials in effort to obtain the funding so they can film another segement.

Yes folks this is a business. Now I am not saying that a local trip to film a whitetail or feral hog hunt would run that much, but most of the costs are still there in proportion to the trip taken. With that in mind a production company could very easily spend $750,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 to product thirty six 30 minute segments, depending upon the quality of the show they produce. This is why so many of these venues are becoming commercialized. They have to in order to survive. It is a pure example of mathmatics. You musthave more money thanyou spent to make a profit.

I am not trying to justify why some of these shows seem to be boring as hell or the production quality is below par, just trying to shed some light on what is involved in getting a segment aired and why they are filmed like they are.

Besides if you don’t like the shows you are seeing on the Outdoor Channel let Jake Hartwick, VP of marketing, or Andy Dale, President, know. They’ll listen because they are always striving to improve the channel but they won’t know how you feel if you don’t tell them.