Fred Media, Australia’s leading independent content distributor, has announced that it has launched its first FAST channel in Europe.
Available on the LG Channels platform in seven territories, including the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, Life Down Under is a premium FAST channel featuring lifestyle, documentary and factual content originating from and telling stories about life in Australia. All titles are from the growing Fred Media program catalogue and have been produced by its award-winning parent company, WTFN.
At launch, Life Down Under features popular series such as The Wild Life of Tim Faulkner, Travels with the Bondi Vet, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Lee Chan’s World Food Tour, Tattoo Tales and Tony Robinson’s Time Walks. Additional WTFN series will be added over time, including Paramedics, Emergency, Mega Zoo, Space Invaders, Sydney Harbour Force and Code 1: Minute by Minute. All titles have previously been broadcast in primetime slots on leading Australian networks eg Seven, Nine, Ten, ABC, Foxtel and SBS.
The deal with LG was negotiated by Derek Dyson, the WTFN Group’s Chief Commercial Officer. He comments: “We launched an early incarnation of Life Down Under in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 – on Samsung TV and Hisense – and quickly became aware that it had much broader appeal than solely a domestic audience. This new deal with LG showcases some of the very best Fred Media and WTFN content and meets a real demand from Australians living in Europe and European viewers keen to have a constant stream of top-rated, authentically Aussie series at their fingertips.
“We are excited to launch our first international FAST channel in Europe, bringing content from across our extensive library into one focused broadcast destination. We now look forward to expanding our offer with Life Down Under, adding new content and growing the channel’s global footprint.”
Fred Media and WTFN’s long-running title Bondi Vet already has its own successful FAST channel in Australia and New Zealand, managed by the business. Meanwhile, the company has recently struck a global partnership with Blue Ant Media, whereby Bondi Vet is a flagship title in its rapidly expanding Love Pets FAST channel.
