At thirteen seasons, Bondi Vet is already one of the world’s most popular pet and vet formats.
Originally starring renowned veterinarian Dr Chris Brown, a network star in his own right in Australia, the series has been distributed to more than 180 territories worldwide and has been a programming mainstay on the likes of Discovery and Animal Planet.
This series helped establish Melbourne-based independent producer WTFN Entertainment as an established player in the factual space, one of the pre-eminent creators of pet content worldwide, and helped launch the now well-established and respected distribution business Fred Media.
Then, following a meeting at MIPCOM in 2018, WTFN decided the next natural step for Bondi Vet was in the digital space.
“We were probably one of the first producers to seriously look at how we could commercialise our content directly on channels on YouTube,” says Derek Dyson, Chief Commercial Officer of WTFN and architect of the company’s transition to digital platforms.
“I think a lot of our competitors at the time were scared of devaluing their content by making it available for free on platforms like YouTube. But we could see there was a commercial and strategic advantage in owning and controlling our own audiences,” he added.
Building a Digital Presence
Bondi Vet was initially established as a YouTube Channel in 2019, with the initial strategy of making the back catalogue available via the channel, as well as similar shows in the pet and vet space.
This was followed by the launch of dedicated Facebook and Snapchat channels, where further traction for the content was established.
After having the channels run by a third party, WTFN brought the management of these in-house with the launch of Radar, a dedicated channel management and monetisation business.
“We were one of the first businesses to grasp the Facebook opportunity in particular, and make it work. We now see some Facebook channels vastly outperforming their YouTube counterparts, including Bondi Vet,” Derek said.
“That’s now a key part of our offering as an MCN, that we don’t just concentrate on YouTube channels but can make Facebook and Snapchat work as well,” he added.
Since launch, Bondi Vet has grown into one of the most successful pet and vet channels worldwide. The YouTube channel now has more than 1.5m subscribers, achieving the much sought after YouTube Gold Play Button, and hundreds of millions of views per year.
One clip, “Vet Removes 3 TEETH That Got Trapped In Crocs Mouth”, has been watched 50 million times.
Facebook has also proved to be a massive audience and commercial success with over three million subscribers and billions of views to date. The Bondi Vet universe was also expanded via a series of owned-and-operated FAST channels as well as a major FAST channel partnership with Blue Ant Media (“Love Pets”).
Expanding the Content Universe
“You can pretty much turn on any device now and there will be a Bondi Vet offering. Whether that is a FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus or some short form on Snapchat. We’re reaching the largest broadest possible audience worldwide,” Derek said.
“That’s always been part of the strategy. Once you have made something available for free, you absolutely have to get it on many different channels as possible. The ever-evolving VOD, FAST and OTT space provides those opportunities,” he added.
Radar launched several new owned-and-operated channels including Vet On The Hill, Untamed and Time Travels, to further expand the presence of its back catalogue across YouTube, Facebook and other social platforms.
In 2021, Radar received YouTube Affiliate CMS status from Google, allowing it to become a fully-fledged Multi Channel Network (MCN) and start to offer channel management, monetisation and content protection services to third parties.
Radar now supports channels of both Producers and Content Creators including the creator channel Oceanliner Designs (550,000 subscribers) and the iconic series, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan (150,000 subscribers) and Border Security (350,000 subscribers).
“The trends we see now are validating our initial strategy. YouTube is the number one streaming channel in the US, far outperforming the likes of Netflix,” Derek says.
“Fifty percent of YouTube views are now on the primary television in the home. Audiences are increasingly looking for long form experiences. I’m glad we started when we did,” he added.
Getting Started
Producers and rights holders have experimented with YouTube and other VOD platforms with varying degrees of success. Some tips for getting started include:
Single IP or Catch All Channel – Analyse your content and work out if you have a brand that is strong enough to stand alone as a Single IP Channel or whether your library is more suited to a Catch All Channel i.e. a genre such as wildlife or history.
Critical Mass – You must make sure you have enough content to start and maintain your channel. About 100 episodes would last about two years (assuming one episode published per week). Any less than that and you’d need to think twice.
Rights – Available rights are key. Having availability in key territories particularly the US, Canada, UK, Western Europe and Australia are critical to drive significant ad revenue.
Channel Management – Unfortunately, YouTube channels do not run themselves. In fact, they require meticulous management and optimisation. YouTube and VOD specialists are required to get the most out of your content on these platforms.
Get It Everywhere – YouTube should be the starting point for your VOD content journey. Both Facebook and Snapchat are sources of ad-funded revenue while there are a variety of VOD and OTT channels that are hungry for premium content.
Multi Channel Networks – There are companies out there, including WTFN’s very own Radar MCN, who partner with rights holders to launch, manage and maximise content on YouTube and other VOD platforms. Get yourself a Multi Channel Network partner.
