Global Trekker is Rock Entertainment’s newest go-to destination for multi-genre factual entertainment in Southeast Asia. The pay-TV channel, which offers an interesting mix of topics, want its viewers to travel the globe with its top-notch content that lets the audience learn in a fun and entertaining way.

Launched in October 2021, Global Trekker joins Rock Entertainment’s current channel lineup that includes ROCK Entertainment, ROCK Extreme, LoveNature 4K, Smithsonian Channel, Makeful, and ZooMoo. 

Rock Entertainment Founder Ward Platt said that they felt that multi-genre factual entertainment was generally underserved in the marketplace and that there was a demand for that kind of content. “People are looking for channels that offer a robust offering of content that speaks to them and that they can connect with, and we felt Global Trekker could do that,” Ward told Television Asia Plus. 

Programming that caters to Millennials and Gen Z

Global Trekker offers first and exclusive content in Asia and offers five genres: Nature & Environment, Destination & Food, Business, Science & Technology, and Personality & Art. The channel launched with an interesting lineup of shows including The Wine Show featuring Matthew Goode, Endangered Wildlife Sanctuary and Dogs: An Amazing Animal Family. In the coming months, Ward said that Global Trekker will air documentaries such as Billion Dollar Space Race: Bezos Vs Musk Vs Branson and Take Us Home: Leeds United. 

Rock Entertainment focused on the younger demographic with programming that will suit the discerning tastes of the Millennial and Gen Z audience. To capture the demographic, Ward said that they are also extending Global Trekker’s presence on YouTube and social media for the target audience to be able to consume Global Trekker’s content outside of linear TV as well. 

Ward said, “We’re trying to position the content to be relevant to the younger audiences. We aren’t limiting ourselves to pay-TV, we are investing a lot in the website, globaltrekker.org. We’re also launching the brand in other parts of the world besides Asia. In other markets, we may focus on a slightly different model for how we distribute the channel and the content because I think each market evolves differently.”

Global Trekker coming soon to more countries

Global Trekker made its debut in Asia with Hong Kong Cable Television Limited on November 1, followed by MeTV in Thailand and UiTV in Myanmar on November 15. In the coming months, the channel will be available on 3BBGIGATV in Thailand and more to come soon. 

Ward said that since the launch of Global Trekker, Rock Entertainment has received a lot of enthusiasm from its partners, and he expects the channel to be carried by other platforms in the coming months. He said, “We believe that Global Trekker will be sitting there alongside these other channels quite quickly. I would say [that] most [of] all the markets we would have carriage of Global Trekker, maybe not in every platform in the market, but certainly in markets where we expect it to be carried.” 

Pay-TV still relevant amid rapid change

With Global Trekker’s arrival in Asia, Ward believes that there is positive momentum for Pay-TV platforms and channel operators amid the growth of SVOD in Asia. “There’s certainly a big adjustment that everyone needs to make with platforms and channel operators and so forth. I think they are starting to find their rhythm and a way to succeed and grow despite the competitive landscape being much different than it was five years ago,” he said. 

The Founder believes that eventually, there will be opportunities for other products like AVOD or ad-supported streaming television to enter the market which has seen success in regions such as the United States where free ad-supported streaming is booming. He added, “It’s starting to expand into places like Australia, Japan, China, the UK, Latin America and India. I would imagine that over time, that will be something real in this part of the world as well but I wouldn’t vision seeing a dramatic change in the next 12 months on that front. Ultimately, that’s good because there is a demand for linear channels and there is a willingness to watch content with ads.”

This story appears in the December 2021 issue of Television Asia Plus.