Off-Grid making millions for some
The hottest shows on cable TV these days are about people who have no TV.
As the TV industry wakes up to this, expect plenty more shows about off-grid living.
Take Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People, in which a character shows how to properly prepare grasshoppers by pulling their heads off and allowing the guts to leak out before laying them out in the sun to dry. Add a little salt and pepper, and dinner is served.
Not hungry? Viewers are lapping up the year-old show, as well as other off–grid reality series that have become very appetizing.
Shows like Alaskan Bush People, History Channel’s Mountain Men Home page, FYI’s Unplugged Nation and Animal Planet’s The Last Alaskans — as well as rugged competition reality shows, such as Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid and History Channel’s series Alone — are providing viewers with an aspirational look at an alternative lifestyle that eschews modern technology for life off the beaten path.
Some of the characters in these reality shows are hardcore naturalists who have no need for civilization; others are average people who are seeking the simple life. Some are new at it; others have been doing it for generations.
On these shows, hunting knives are more valuable than smartphones, and cable-network programmers say it’s the fantasy of unplugging from civilization that draws viewers in droves.
Off–the–grid shows comprised nearly half of the 10 most-watched reality shows during the third quarter of 2015, according to Nielsen. Alaskan Bush People, which profiles a family born and raised in the Alaskan wilderness, was the most popular reality show of the period, averaging 3.6 million viewers.
TAKEAWAY
Reality-show aficionados are finding a refuge from modern living in the programs.
“There’s an aspirational element to the show that really communicates with people — we’ve always had that as a backbone to the program,” Russ McCarroll, senior vice president of development and programming for History Channel, said. “These ideas of managing to live and doing hard work in places that are beautiful are what appeal to viewers.”
WILDERNESS ESCAPISM
During times frought with threats of cyber-terrorism, economic difficulties and military conflicts, History’s Mountain Men — which follows the real-life challenges of six guys who use their survival skills to live in desolate mountain areas across the country — attracts both male and female viewers with escapist content that focuses on a simpler life where people control where and how they live, McCarroll said.
Mountain Men averaged more than 3 million viewers during its fourth and most recent season, which concluded last week.
“There’s a lot of doom and gloom stories out there, whether it’s the breakdown of the economy or the environment changing, so there’s a great appeal as to whether to sustain one’s self and to fi nd out, if everything really did go the wrong way,