The new programs are livelier than the early vintage and less violent than the fang-heavy ones. They feature colorful hosts and include more close-up photography. They try to educate and entertain at the same time. And they are heavily promoted. The smaller networks crave original programming that they can call their own, but they do not have a lot of money for the writers, producers, crews and actors.
Wildlife shows require only a small staff.
The programs also are attractive to parents troubled by increasingly racy network shows. Bunting said the programs also were simply good television, produced with the goal of entertainment. Animal Planet's No. 1 lure is Steve Irwin, host of The Crocodile Hunter, the network's top-rated program, which is shown on Sunday and Wednesday nights and is watched in about 400,000 households. The first two nights' programs brought Planet's highest prime time ratings ever. The June 18 edition of Crocodile Hunter was watched by more than one million viewers, the largest audience in the channel's four-year history.