Boys’ Club

Survival and motoring titles are hoping to quench the male audience’s thirst for adventure. 

In their bid to supply broadcasters with content that will appeal to the much-sought-after male demo, producers and distributors worldwide are heeding the call of the wild.

Within the last decade, outdoor adventure series and survivalist fare pitting rugged explorers against Mother Nature have comfortably found spaces not just in traditionally guy-skewing channels, but in general-entertainment networks as well. In fact, these titles are more often than not popping up in programming slots once dominated by such go-to male genres as sports and history. Even classic manly offerings like motoring are pumping up the testosterone levels, replacing formats heavy on talking heads with charismatic characters and real-world thrills.

“We’re seeing a lot of demand for shows with that heightened sense of adventure,” says Prentiss Fraser, the senior VP and global head of content sales at FOX International Channels  (FIC). “Audiences, especially male audiences, want to experience something extreme through someone else’s eyes, and that is a welcome departure from what you’re used to seeing in these kinds of factual programs.”

WILD AT HEART
At the core of these adrenaline-pumping titles is a curiosity factor, as many of these series offer their primarily male viewers glimpses of gritty lifestyles far removed from the contemporary urban experience. “There’s a trend toward a  ‘re-wilding,’ a reaction against the pace of modern life,” says Andrea Olsson, the head of factual entertainment and lifestyle at BBC Worldwide, which is presenting the off-the-grid showcase Where the Wild Men Are with Ben Fogle at MIPCOM. “That rejection of the nine-to-five and the ideas of adventure and exploration and endurance are really at the heart of these shows, and men are paying attention.”

Authenticity is also key when it comes to finding a solid male audience. “The genre just feels more real, more raw, and it provides a unique perspective on how we interact with the environment,” says Sally Habbershaw, the VP of international programming, production and operations at A+E Networks. In June, the company’s male-friendly HISTORY brand premiered the competition series Alone, a show that upped the ante on the age-old struggle with nature by placing hard-core survivalists in remote locations without the assistance of production crews.

“It didn’t have flashy camera angles or any sense that the contestants had the security of a production team there,” Habbershaw says. “When any one of the protagonists was out there, they were truly exposed. It’s that sort of extreme endurance that leaves the audience in awe.”

John Pollak, the president of Electus International, adds that wish fulfillment is also an important factor in assessing the genre’s sudden popularity. “[Audiences] want to watch because they think to themselves, ‘What if I were stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but the supplies that I have with me? What if I were stranded out in the middle of the wilderness with just the stuff I’m able to rummage?’” he says. “That really does happen to people, but up to this point you’ve actually never seen it on TV.”

PRIME PLAYERS
Electus counts several survivalist titles in its catalogue, among them series starring British adventurer Bear Grylls, who is often credited with mainstreaming the genre with shows such as Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild in the mid-2000s. According to Pollak, the popular presenter is also responsible for shifting adventure programs away from niche channels and into more general-entertainment networks.

“Bear has really spearheaded this movement and changed how people think about survivalist programming,” Pollak says. “He has definitely found a way to turn these amazing outdoor adventure shows that have primarily lived on cable into prime-time network hits that reach a vast, diverse audience.”

As an example, Pollak lists Running Wild with Bear Grylls, in which the titular explorer shares his survival skills with a roster of celebrities. A special taped in September, airing later this year, featured U.S. President Barack Obama. That show’s second season aired on U.S. broadcast network NBC this summer in a weekday prime-time slot. Another Grylls show featuring celebrities—this time British ones—is Mission Survive for ITV.

“Most of our adventure shows do really well with broad audiences,” says FIC’s Fraser. “They may first debut on, say, National Geographic, but then on the second window they go to big free-to-air broadcasters, networks like Channel 4 [in the U.K.] or CCTV in China or ZDF in Germany. It’s these big, broad channels that give the shows as much exposure as possible.”

Having a big, marketable personality leading the show also helps spread word of mouth on a title. “In order to bring in a large enough audience, you need presenters who have an authentic interest in the subject matter and who are charismatic,” says Olsson of BBC Worldwide. “And if they’re recognized internationally, even better.”

“It’s an important part of the pull of a program to have a character who knows what he’s doing,” says Paul Heaney, the CEO of TCB Media Rights. The company’s catalogue features seven seasons of the Canadian production Survivorman, which airs globally on Discovery Channel and Discovery Science. “Guys like Les Stroud of Survivorman seem to be coming to the fore because of the intensity they convey. When he’s out there in the wild, he’s filming himself—he’s on his own. That kind of commitment can relay the idea that, yes, this is as real as it gets.”

And that attention to detail goes a long way in creating a bond between the male viewer and his onscreen proxy. “A show’s appeal goes back to the person in front of the camera,” says Munia Kanna-Konsek, the head of sales at Beyond Distribution. “There has to be a general empathy and maybe even a love for these hosts, because they’re not doing it just to exploit certain feelings, or just for the sake of doing it.”

Kanna-Konsek highlights Tim Noonan, the producer and host of Beyond’s Boy to Man, a series in which the filmmaker immerses himself in remote cultures to undergo at-times dangerous coming-of-age rituals.

“He went through all of these initiation ceremonies with each of the tribes he visited, like eating the eye of an animal or getting his chest cut as part of a rite,” Kanna-Konsek says. “And he did all that because he had a passion and love for the subject matter before it morphed into a series. That’s evident from the start.”

GEARED FOR SUCCESS
Outdoor survival isn’t the only genre taking advantage of that primeval male urge for thrills and chills. Motoring has also adopted an edgier hue in order to draw male crowds, with many pointing to the BBC juggernaut Top Gear as the series that ushered in the sea change.

Launched in 1977 as a conventional motoring show, the series underwent a 2002 revamp that brought in guy’s guy Jeremy Clarkson as host—and later Richard Hammond and James May—and added Y-chromosome-pleasing features such as full-throttle races and daredevil stunts.

“Top Gear is one of those shows that really cuts through and reaches all types of male demos, producing some pretty incredible numbers,” Olsson of BBC Worldwide says. “Watching it achieve that success has been phenomenal.”

The car show will undergo yet another makeover next year, once British presenter Chris Evans takes over hosting duties. (Clarkson, Hammond and May, meanwhile, are making a reportedly very expensive show for Amazon.)

“Men have always been attracted to machinery, and a car show that provides plenty of that will do well, but to really stand out you have to also provide interesting personalities and an interesting backdrop,” says TCB’s Heaney. Among the motor-head titles in the company’s lineup is Inside Jaguar: Making a Million Pound Car, a Channel 4 commission that sees classic-car fanatic Mark Evans follow the construction of one of the world’s most exclusive vehicles.

Michael Lolato, the senior VP of international distribution at GRB Entertainment, also highlights the importance of motoring as a space where boys can be boys.

“We have a show called Car Crazy that’s exactly what the title says,” he notes. “It showcases the newest technology, the newest models, anything having to do with the world of cars. It’s aimed at die-hard auto enthusiasts, who, let’s face it, tend to be male, and it really relishes that. They can talk all they want about cars and have fun doing it.”

CHANGING TASTES
That male-clubhouse attitude has also bled into other factual genres, transforming the very definition of what constitutes male programming.

“The idea of what guys want has been changing,” says Lolato. “Surprisingly, what’s doing very well for male audiences right now are cooking and food shows. Something like our series BBQ Pitmasters features cooking, which tends to be female-skewed, but it throws in these manly characters and a competition angle, so it becomes a perfect hybrid for the male viewer.”

Jon Kramer, the chairman and CEO of Rive Gauche Television, agrees that lifestyle genres usually associated with female audiences can be easily flipped to hook guys—as long as they have the right sort of edge.

“You don’t want a show where you’re just sitting in front of a TV watching somebody scramble an egg,” Kramer says. “A male viewer gets bored with that. You need cooking with action in it.” Kramer highlights the Rive Gauche offering The Illegal Eater, in which former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page takes viewers on tours of underground restaurants.

“Shows that bring in high volumes of male viewers don’t necessarily have to focus on traditionally male subjects,” adds BBC Worldwide’s Olsson. “It’s interesting to note that [in 2014] more men watched the final of The Great British Bake Off than watched the FA Cup final on BBC One, for instance.”

If spiced up enough, any lifestyle format can be redirected at men, says Kanna-Konsek of Beyond. “Our show Chuck’s Week Off: Mexico features chef [Chuck Hughes] immersing his culinary skills and love for adventure in another country. So there’s the food and the travel element, but it’s presented by a masculine host who is not only appealing to women, but also to men, who watch and learn and pick up information.”

CO-VIEWING DEMANDS
Though more and more male-focused channels such as Spike TV are popping up worldwide, distributors are still targeting general-entertainment networks. And to do that, they’re realizing the late James Brown may have been on to something when he famously crooned, “This is a man’s world, but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.”

“That co-viewing area is the holy grail for a lot of broadcasters,” says Heaney of TCB. “So in order to sell well and widely, many producers are finding elements that will get women involved in these shows.”

Olsson says that women made up 37 percent of total viewers during the latest season of Top Gear, which equates to 2.2 million viewers in the U.K. “Traditionally, men are much harder to reach, so being able to also attract [the male] demographic is really valuable to broadcasters,” Olsson explains. “But channels are increasingly trying to balance their audiences, to be less gender exclusive and more appropriate for co-viewing. So what we refer to as ‘male-skewed’ at BBC Worldwide tends to be factual programming that appeals to men without alienating women.”

BEING INCLUSIVE
A+E Networks’ Habbershaw also notes that shows produced with men in mind very often can strike a chord with women viewers. “Very interestingly, in Singapore, Pawn Stars’ audience is a 60-percent female skew, quite an anomaly [compared] to other markets,” she says. “There is an appeal to the transactional play and informational takeaway.”

Additionally, a host’s relatability does wonders for getting women to stick around series focusing on seemingly “boys-only” subjects. Electus’s Pollak highlights Bear Grylls as the sort of personality able to bridge the gender gap.

“Obviously, Bear is a compelling figure,” says Pollak. “And it helps that he’s a good-looking, charismatic guy. People love watching him, both female and male.”

Still, Pollak makes it clear that the thrill of an adventure should remain at the root of any factual show.

“People are tired of the constructed, fake reality,” he says. “They want to see a show where, if you need food, you’re jumping on the back of an alligator and killing it because you need to eat it, where there’s not a food truck waiting for you once the camera stops rolling. Viewers watch because these shows are relatable adventures that bring them as close to the real thing as they can get from the safety of their homes. I think that is the real appeal.”