Featured Content Includes New Acquisitions: Jared Leto’s Great Wide Open, Reckognition Productions’ DRONED, Selina Miles’ and Drew MacDonald’s The Wanderers, and Guillaume Sanchez’s Finding the Warrior Within
Los Angeles – October 12, 2017 Expanding upon its base in arts and culture programming, Ovation has created a brand new, multi-platform, video-on-demand service focused on cultural tourism called JOURNY. The service, which is launching today in the U.S. on Roku® devices and the XUMO connected-TV platform, features a number of new acquisitions, as well as select Ovation travel-related original series and specials. The announcement was made today by Will Marks, VP, New Business Development and Digital, Ovation.
“Although JOURNY has its own distinct personality, we like to say it’s ‘powered by Ovation,’ which is to say that the artful, creative spirit of Ovation is very much there,” said Marks. “Since millennials celebrate experiences, we’re launching JOURNY as a place where our culturally curious consumer will connect with their adventurous side and be inspired.”
“We’re excited JOURNY is joining our lineup of primarily digital-first channels available on XUMO,” said Stefan Van Engen, SVP content programming and acquisitions at XUMO. “Our audience looks to XUMO for variety, depth and the opportunity to lean-back and enjoy quality streaming on their smart TVs. JOURNY checks all the boxes.”
JOURNY has acquired the following titles:
Great Wide Open – Directed by Jared Leto, this documentary series celebrates America’s National Parks and the adventurers who explore them. Each episode features Leto himself alongside phenomenal explorers as they travel through the nation’s stunning parks. Great Wide Open is produced and distributed by Leto and Emma Ludbrook’s Paradox and represented by Santini Reali at CAA.
Droned – This innovative series follows a team of eccentric, adrenaline junkies as they bring travel adventures to life using drone technology from their company Pigeon Vision. Episodes include “Swimming with Sharks,” which has the team traveling to the breathtaking Marieta Islands and shark infested waters of the Bahamas. Droned is produced and distributed by Reckognition Productions and represented by Josh Levenbrown at APA.
The Wanderers – Profiling six of Australia’s most-exciting muralists, this series visits inspiring locations of each artist’s choice, while they use their art to learn more about the place and how each new environment influences their individual artistic style. The Wanderers is produced and distributed by Selina Miles and Drew MacDonald.
Finding the Warrior Within – This series follows the adventures of Guillaume Sanchez, a passionate dancer who challenges himself to learn the indigenous dance of the Dayaks, the native people of Borneo. Under the tutelage of the renowned dance group Tutwuri Handayani, he’ll discover many remarkable stories of the dancers’ mystic heritage and how they cope with modern influences. He’ll also meet with other local artists, including those who use Hip Hop as their great source of strength and inspiration. Finding the Warrior Within is produced and distributed by Borneo Productions International.
“JOURNY is all about celebrating diversity and unique storytelling,” said Elba Flamenco, Senior Director of Content Partnerships, JOURNY. “We’re interested in working with indie producers and creators that embody this spirit. Our millennial audience wants to watch programming that’s immersive, character-driven, and emotionally uplifting. Creatively produced programming of all types and formats is liberating and we’re looking at it all. This group of titles is a great example of our range.”
JOURNY is also featuring several arts and travel-themed original series from Ovation, including episodes of The Art Of, Southern Uncovered with The Lee Bros., The Da Vinci List, The Method and American Canvas.
About OVATION … America’s Only Arts Network.
Art has the power to inspire us, elevate our thinking, and awaken our senses. As an independent television, production and digital media company, OVATION has an unparalleled commitment to the arts, culture and captivating entertainment. Showcasing a lineup of critically-acclaimed premium dramas, arts-related specials and documentaries, and iconic films, OVATION salutes innovative storytelling, lives for the art in entertainment, finds beauty in the everyday, and applauds art in unexpected places. OVATION is available to nearly 50M subscribers via cable, satellite and telco systems including Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse, SPECTRUM, Verizon FiOS, as well as on VOD. Through THE OVATION FOUNDATION, the company is committed to advocating for the arts, nationally and locally, and has provided more than $15M in contributions and in kind support to arts institutions and arts education. You can follow OVATION on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, OvationTV.com, and through our App, OVATION NOW.
About JOURNY
JOURNY is a digital, ad-supported, travel-lifestyle OTT service designed for today’s millennial viewers. Programming centers around world travel, cultural tourism, and global citizenry. Utilizing a network of talented and passionate travel filmmakers, producers and creators, JOURNY seeks to foster a feeling of inclusiveness and community through travel and storytelling. JOURNY is available via Roku devices and XUMO-enabled connected TVs, with more platform roll outs scheduled throughout 2018.
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