Niche TV show celebrates 3rd Anniversary

"Super-Specialist" TV programme The Caravan Channel celebrates 3 years of continuous production in October 2009

[UKPRwire, Tue Sep 22 2009] The Caravan Channel, reckoned to be one of the UK and Europe’s most specialist TV programmes, is celebrating 3 years of continuous television programme production in October 2009.

The programmes first edition was broadcast by niche satellite broadcaster Information TV in October 2006, and production company Serious Leisure TV, based in Felixstowe, Suffolk, has now produced a total of 76 fortnightly half-hour shows in the ongoing series.

“We started from a very low base,” said producer and presenter Chris Gosling. “I had the most basic equipment, some knowledge about TV production, a good grounding in work-a-day journalism and reporting, and a couple of years caravanning experience - it all started from there!”

The programme’s regular fortnightly editions now cover all the major caravan and motorhome events in the UK, and it always keeps a regular eye on the caravan and motorhome industry - most recently, it launched two video reports online about the new Bailey Pegasus range of caravans on the same day as the manufacturer themselves launched the product. But its TV programme is the key to its success.

Although formal figures are difficult to come by, Chris Gosling reckons the programme gets an audience in excess of 100,000 over its eight showings each fortnight. “We sometimes get massive responses from viewers,” he said. “Free prize draws, which often feature in the programme, get anything up to 1,500 phone calls and emails, and our mailboxes often overflow with emails about programmes or their contents.

“Unlike conventional TV programmes, we interact with our audience all the time. On campsites, people come up for a chat; at show and exhibitions, we can be inundated with visitors, and our facebook and twitter pages get lots of views. We have a busy and popular internet forum associated to our website at www.caravanchannel.tv and we run a 1,500 subscriber newsletter!”

As well as producing The Caravan Channel, Serious Leisure TV also produces Goodbye, 9 to 5!, a programme aimed at the UK’s over 55 retired and “aspire to retire” population.

The Caravan Channel is broadcast on Information TV, Sky channel 166 and Freesat 402, at 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a new programme every two weeks. The programme’s website with stacks of video is at www.caravanchannel.tv

For more information, contact Chris Gosling on 07931 310254 or email production@caravanchannel.co.uk