{"id":18163,"date":"2022-05-25T08:50:17","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T12:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2022-05-26T09:25:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T13:25:02","slug":"orf-universums-gernot-lercher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/","title":{"rendered":"ORF UNIVERSUM\u2019s Gernot Lercher"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audiences around the world, whether they have been turning to factual titles to travel the world while homebound during a global pandemic or growing increasingly concerned about the future of the planet and its inhabitants, have been fueling the boom in demand for natural-history and wildlife titles. Gernot Lercher, the head of natural history for ORF\u2019s UNIVERSUM, talks to TV Real\u00a0<\/em>about the global hunger for the kind of content that fills the strand\u2019s slate, the advantages of technological advancements and how content that puts the Earth\u2019s environment at its core can make a difference.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV REAL:<\/strong> How is the current international demand for natural-history and wildlife programming?
\nLERCHER:<\/strong> I am observing an ever-growing appetite for natural-history and wildlife content, which we are ready to fulfill by increasing our yearly output by 50 percent. This is closely related to the general interest of our society in any kind of ecological issues and conservation topics. I have never [before] experienced a time when all generations have been so focused on saving this planet we call home.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> What\u2019s key to connecting viewers to wildlife stories? What evolutions have you seen across the genre in recent years?
\nLERCHER:<\/strong> It\u2019s all about emotion and drama, and wildlife stories guarantee those components in a culturally universal way. But I recognize a significant development from pure blue-chip productions showcasing the beauty of the surrounding nature to documentaries that also cope with conservation issues. Our audience is more and more interested in stories that put their focus on the tension between civilization and wilderness.<\/p>\n

TV REAL: <\/strong>What about developments in technology?
\nLERCHER:<\/strong> Technology is moving forward with an unbelievable speed. Just look back. Ten years ago, aerials without a helicopter? No chance! Today, you have different kinds of drones that can fly in high Alpine regions as well as just one meter above the ground. How lucky we are to get all of these new perspectives that help us find new narratives\u2014telling stories in the most compelling way. But as much technology as we have for our purposes, we shall never forget the impact of a good, unique story. For me, my team and the UNIVERSUM filmmakers, this counts even more than the most beautiful shot.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong> Amid the increasingly urgent calls to more meaningfully address climate change, how big of a role can wildlife programming play in spreading the word?
\nLERCHER:<\/strong> There is no doubt that natural-history films can change one\u2019s mind. We are fully convinced that our films can make a difference and raise the level of sensibility for the preservation of our planet. Our strand UNIVERSUM is a very popular weekly program that reaches the whole family and all generations. We also recognize that the ratings in the younger segment are significantly going up as soon as we put in more content that throws a critical light on how we are dealing with nature.<\/p>\n

TV REAL: <\/strong>What gives the wildlife programming on your slate its global legs? Any highlights you’d like to note?
\nLERCHER:<\/strong> UNIVERSUM is renowned for its international co-productions, incorporating partners in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. We completed the two-parter Colombia\u2014Wild and Free<\/em>, together with PBS, ARTE and NDR Naturfilm\/Doclights on board. Hudson River Wild<\/em>, a successful co-production with Smithsonian and ARTE, was also completed. There is a lot more to come, like a film about migrating birds against the backdrop of climate change or another one about corridors of life that wild animals learned to use for moving from East to West on the European continent, despite all the barriers that humans created.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The head of natural history for ORF\u2019s UNIVERSUM on the global hunger for the kind of content that fills the strand\u2019s slate, the advantages of technological advancements and how content that puts the Earth\u2019s environment at its core can make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1033,"featured_media":18164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[6232,6233],"class_list":["post-18163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-gernot-lercher","tag-orfs-universum","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nORF UNIVERSUM\u2019s Gernot Lercher - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ORF UNIVERSUM\u2019s Gernot Lercher - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The head of natural history for ORF\u2019s UNIVERSUM on the global hunger for the kind of content that fills the strand\u2019s slate, the advantages of technological advancements and how content that puts the Earth\u2019s environment at its core can make a difference.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-25T12:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-26T13:25:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/Gernot-Lercher-ORF-0522.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"418\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/\",\"name\":\"ORF UNIVERSUM\u2019s Gernot Lercher - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-25T12:50:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-26T13:25:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/orf-universums-gernot-lercher\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ORF UNIVERSUM\u2019s Gernot Lercher\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\",\"name\":\"Chelsea Regan\",\"description\":\"Chelsea Regan is the managing editor of World Screen. 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