Animal Planet boosts budget

Animal Planet will boost its programming budget 14% this year to $93.4 million, starting with a greenlight for four primetime series scheduled to begin airing in the second quarter and continue into next year. (Source: Variety)

According to Exec VP-general manager Maureen Smith the network wants to build on its recent ratings momentum. In 2006 Animal Planet’s primetime Nielsen average grew to 600,000 total viewers, 6% up on a year earlier. In its target demo of adults 25-54, the net jumped 5%.

The four new projects:

• “Spring Watch USA” follows mammals, birds and insects as they adjust to the unfolding of spring. Painless Prods. will film each of the six hourlong episodes close to airdate, with Jeff Corwin and Vanessa Garnick as the hosts. It’s based on a BBC series.

• “Divine Canine” zeroes in on a group of Eastern Orthodox monks in upstate New York who have become celebrated for raising and training dogs. People with dysfunctional dogs from all over the country take them to the monks, who cure the animals through behavioral discipline and, spiritually, by putting the fear of God into them. Rivr Media will do 16 half-hours in the first cycle.

• “Twisted Creatures” employs the latest in CG effects to conjure up mythical beasts in 13 half-hours produced by Evergreen Films. The griffin (half eagle, half lion) is the first subject.

• “Predator vs. Prey” sees animal expert Dave Salmoni go out into the field and study the interaction of such natural enemies as grizzly bears and elk. Producer Triosphere will do four hours to run as quarterly specials, beginning in midsummer.

Among Animal Planet’s most popular continuing shows are “Wild Kingdom,” “Meerkat Manor,” “Animal Planet Safari” and the one-hour “Prehistoric Park” specials.

Smith said she’d like to buy rerun series, but the networks are not commissioning animal-themed series like the old “Lassie,” “Rin Tin Tin,” “Flipper” and “Gentle Ben.”