{"id":23697,"date":"2025-09-03T07:50:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T11:33:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:33:28","slug":"a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"A Study in Natural History: Bringing UNIVERSUM to the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Austrian broadcaster ORF, Gernot Lercher, head of natural history for the storied UNIVERSUM brand, has 44 prime-time slots to fill every year. Some viewers have been with the block since its launch in 1987.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means we still have to surprise them and bring films they wouldn\u2019t really expect,\u201d Lercher said at the TV Real Festival recently. \u201cBut on the other hand, it\u2019s necessary to guarantee some reliability. They switch on Tuesday nights, in prime time, and they expect high quality, both visually and in terms of content. UNIVERSUM in Austria stands for something. This is the pressure we face in\u00a0\"Video\"<\/a>bringing programs to that slot that fulfill all the expectations our audiences have. I always try to have a nice mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

ORF-Enterprise has long been involved in supporting the popular block. \u201cOur clients in the international market know us well for having these very high-end, blue-chip productions in nature and wildlife,\u201d said Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, director of acquisitions and distribution investment, at the session with Lercher. \u201cThis is what makes it easy for us as a distributor to invest. It is not as much of a risk as it would be in other documentary genres, because we are so very well-known, and this is thanks to Gernot and his team. We have these international alliances and can still produce high-end nature and wildlife documentaries. But it is becoming harder and harder because huge budgets are needed to produce these programs, and many of the partners we worked with for so many years cannot afford the amounts we used to get from them. Many countries are not as involved as they were some years ago. We are doing our best to close these budgets and to deliver the same quality as we have always been delivering for this slot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-productions are crucial, Lerner noted. \u201cEverybody is suffering from budget cuts. Especially in natural history, it feels like a family where one helps the other. This makes it easier in tougher times. No co-production means no documentary. Putting money together is the only way to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camus-Oberdorfer added, \u201cThe budgets from one single broadcaster or one single producer are not enough to do a high-end quality production. It is all about the relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Narrative techniques are evolving to keep pace with changes in audience demand. Lercher has seen a move away from the \u201ctraditional blue-chip animal behavior storytelling; films exclusively focused on animal behavior. The audience is increasingly interested in the human impact on nature. They want to learn more about conservation and get an idea of how each of us can help save the planet. Times are over for just focusing exclusively on the idyllic and exotic places, not looking left or right, ignoring what\u2019s happening there. Today\u2019s audiences are very open to and even appreciate seeing tensions and conflicts between civilization and nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lercher also stressed the importance of delivering high production values. \u201cOutstanding quality means that if you put people in such a documentary, they must be filmed cinematically. That\u2019s always one crucial thing we ask the producers for; this guarantees a quality of all those films that have sustainability. Twenty years ago, it was enough that you could broadcast the film after five or seven years. Now, if you put big money into a production, it\u2019s necessary that it can go on air for at least a decade. It has to have a long life.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are plenty of concerns about AI, with ORF having a strict policy against the use of AI-generated footage in natural history docs, as well as some other genres. Buyers and commissioners, Camus-Oberdorfer said, want authenticity. \u201cNature and wildlife is perhaps the purest genre of documentary because nobody wants to see AI animals running across a fake countryside.\u201d<\/p>\n

ORF has just begun its journey of using YouTube and other digital platforms to bring in new audiences to UNIVERSUM. The pubcaster is somewhat behind due to previous regulations, Lercher said. \u201cWe know we need to generate more interest on social media, and we\u2019re working hard to find a way to do that. Our law that guarantees us some more rights on those platforms is new, so we are just finding our place there.\u201d<\/p>\n

While piecing together the funding required to bring these shows to fruition has never been harder, these documentaries are imperative for helping audiences understand the urgency of tackling the climate change dilemma. \u201cNever before have people all over the world seemed to realize so clearly what we stand to lose if we don\u2019t take care of our planet,\u201d Lercher said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say natural history documentaries are experiencing a full renaissance, but they are important tools to help raise awareness for conservation and environmental protection. We believe our work can make a difference out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camus-Oberdorfer, who describes herself as an \u201canimal and nature lover,\u201d agreed, adding, \u201cAll these paradises are endangered and people all over the world have to understand that nature as we know it is not granted forever. If we don\u2019t stop polluting the environment, this planet will turn against us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the UNIVERSUM session from the TV Real Festival\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gernot Lercher and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer discuss ORF’s storied UNIVERSUM brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":23196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[6232,1263,1264,864,865],"class_list":["post-23697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-gernot-lercher","tag-marion-camus-oberdorfer","tag-orf","tag-orf-enterprise","tag-universum","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nA Study in Natural History: Bringing UNIVERSUM to the World - 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\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Study in Natural History: Bringing UNIVERSUM to the World - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gernot Lercher and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer discuss ORF's storied UNIVERSUM brand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T11:50:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T15:33:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/1-Universum-ORF.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/\",\"name\":\"A Study in Natural History: Bringing UNIVERSUM to the World - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-03T11:50:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T15:33:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/a-study-in-natural-history-bringing-universum-to-the-world\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Study in Natural History: Bringing UNIVERSUM to the World\"}]},{\"@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\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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