Upfronts 2012: Animal Planet to Launch Competition Reality Series

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Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012

Animal Planet will jump into the reality competition waters with a new fishing-themed series, part of a slate of 11 new series and specials slated for the 2012-13 season.

The new competition series, Top Hooker, will pit two teams of 10 expert fishers in a series of head to head, never-before-seen fishing challenges, said network executives. Extreme anglers will also be the subject of a second new series, Fish America, in which pro wrestler Eric Young travels the country to fish hand to hand with other unique fisherman.

The network will continue to offer natural history programming with Frontier Earth With David Salmoni, a six part series that will follow large predator expert Salmoni as he unfolds the plights of the world's most enigmatic animals. Other new series in the genre include Polar Bear Family And Me, The Afterlife: Elephant, The Afterlife: Hippo, Rhino Wars, Wild Arabia and Wild Hawaii.

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R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.