Lonely Planet Six Degrees launches

MARCH 26, 2003 | MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Lonely Planet Television, a new division of travel publisher Lonely Planet, is launching its first television series, Lonely Planet Six Degrees, at MIPTV in Cannes today.

'We're keenly conscious of the fact that many people around the world are aware of Lonely Planet not from our books but from our earlier foray into TV. This time we're getting directly involved and we're confident we can bring a fresh and new approach to television travel programming,' Lonely Planet's founder Tony Wheeler said.

Lonely Planet Six Degrees discovers the essence of the world's most happening cities by getting immersed in the lives of the people who live in them. Eight one-hour episodes have been produced, featuring New York, Paris, Sydney, Havana, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Singapore.

Each Six Degrees journey begins with a single point of contact - one phone number, one appointment. This initial encounter leads to a series of others as our traveller creates a chain of connectivity across the city.

Along the way we get to experience the city through the eyes of the people who live in it. Drawn from all walks of life, what they share in common is a love of their city and an enthusiasm to share an intimate part of it with us.

'The best travel experiences often come from serendipitous meetings with locals who can show you things that you would never have seen as a tourist. Six Degrees is all about that. It's about connecting with a city by connecting with the people who live in it,' said Laurence Billiet, who was charged with setting up the new Melbourne-based production house.

Six Degrees is hosted by Toby Amies (Film Four-UK, presenter) and Asha Gill (ex-Channel V-UK, presenter). The series is directed by Malcolm McDonald (American Journey), Jasmine Ng (Eating Air) and Tony Jackson (Mean Streets).

"Like most travellers, Lonely Planet loves to explore new territory. For 30 years we have been doing this in print; television is a natural extension," said Laurence Billiet.

Six Degrees is a co-production between Lonely Planet Television and VHQ Post. It is being produced in association with Discovery International, Fireworks International, Voyage and the Economic Development Board of Singapore.

Six Degrees will be broadcast in the UK, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand on Discovery's Travel Channel in late 2003. It will be broadcast in France on Voyage.