Q&A: NextTrip COO Ian Sharpe Talks JOURNY TV Relaunch and the Future of FAST and Adventure Travel Media
Travel and adventure-focused FAST channel JOURNY TV relaunches this month with a new slate of global storytelling and a new level of commerce-ready brand integration, following the channel’s acquisition by tech-forward travel brand NextTrip in April. JOURNY’s new mix of licensed and original travel programming will include Journey Within, a new wellness travel series hosted by Brazilian TV personalist and holistic spiritualist Marilia Moreno.
To learn more about JOURNY TV’s new content and business model, how commerce is integrated into the channel, and how the new dynamic media hub envisioned by NextTrip and JOURNY opens up new frontiers for FAST as a transactional platform and launching pad for global adventures, I spoke with NextTrip Chief Operating Officer – Media Ian Sharpe just in advance of the premiere of the new and reimagined JOURNY TV.
NextTrip COO – Media Ian Sharpe
Steve Nathans-Kelly: How will the relaunched JOURNY TV differ from the channel's previous incarnation, in terms of its licensed and original programming and its monetization model?
Ian Sharpe: Travel is hot. In fact, travel is ranked as the single most aspirational purchase in the world. The post-COVID boom of revenge travel might have passed, but the spirit of “I’ve-got-to-see-the-world” is thriving. Travel routinely beats out fashion, tech or home improvements in terms of top discretionary spending. People want to get out and see the world, and that desire for travel experiences.
It’s not just industry surveys that tell us this. People are voting with their remotes. That’s why we acquired the JOURNY channel. Whereas the old incantation was run as a kind of arts-and-culture offshoot of Ovation TV, the new JOURNY is a channel by travel insiders and experts, excited to ride this wave.
That’s why the first thing we did once we inked the deal was to bring in Save Your Day Films (the team behind such hits as Paradise Kitchen and JOURNY Within) as an inhouse production team. Not only did we bring them on board, we gave them the keys to the channel, so it’s not just a remote executive programming the channel and licensing content, its filmmakers who have been on shoots in the wildest, most beautiful locations on Earth. If they can’t capture the thrill of travel and deliver on that desire for adventure, then no one can!
How do you expect the revenue model for the channel to break down between commerce integration with NextTrip travel booking, branded content, and traditional advertising?
Our brand partners are excited that the new JOURNY can offer a unique “full funnel” approach, from discovery to departure. We’ve been approached to not only run advertising, but to film and edit the ads themselves. We’ve been asked to contribute to RFPs to help showcase major international locations and attractions. And, unsurprisingly, with the calibre of the Save Your Day Films crew, we have had a quick influx of pilot commissions and insertion orders.
It’s important to recognise that nearly $9.5 billion is spent on travel advertising each year, and that figure is just in the US alone. So, there is a huge effort by DMOs (Destination Management Offices) and Tourist Boards, hotel chains and airlines to get you interested in their corner of the world. I think offering an end-to-end solution for the industry is going to pay dividends for everyone involved. For the past seven years, there hasn’t been a travel channel worthy of that name to deliver against that huge ad spend..
A significant share of these travel advertising budgets has shifted towards digital, driven by increasing demand for measurable return on investment. With JOURNY’s enhanced trackability and integrated ‘scan-to-book’ funnel, we anticipate a surge in media spend on our channel.
Importantly, JOURNY is brand-agnostic, we believe a rising tide lifts all ships. While most DMOs, CVBs, cruises, and hotels will choose to transact through our NextTrip booking platform, we also enable seamless click-off options for partners with their own solutions. This flexibility not only strengthens our value proposition but also provides hotels with a compelling path to reduce commissions and grow direct sales, ultimately positioning JOURNY as a preferred destination for advertising investment.
FAST is widely (if unfairly) regarded as a lean-back TV platform, but it seems like JOURNY will be equal parts travel and adventure programming, travel marketing, and interactive e-commerce platform. What are some examples of how brands and commerce will be integrated into the platform and programming?
On all of our slide decks and positioning statements, we say this “the new JOURNY is redefining travel media, inspiring the next generation of explorers through immersive content, interactive technology, and unparalleled expertise.”
The new owners, NextTrip (NASDAQ: NTRP), are building a whole ecosystem around our media strategy that facilitates bookings and recommendations and turns inspiration into itineraries. Imagine a showcase of the best destinations on the planet, combined with the knowhow to deliver deals to get you closer to your dreams.
Our direct sales team is having inordinate success with our branded blocks. Partners receive a one-hour branded segment which includes in and out bumpers, commercials in the advertising pods, on screen logos and squeeze-backs, as well as call-to-action QR codes that link to direct bookings portals with built in discounts. This “takeover TV” approach is perfect to drive awareness, engagement and bookings year-round, especially when tied to key calendar events and holidays, with the whole package created, curated and delivered by JOURNY’s award-winning production and editorial team.
In terms of lean-back, I am on a personal crusade to change how travel TV is perceived. All too often, broadcaster EPGs lump JOURNY in under the Home and Food category. I mean, travel is definitively the opposite of Home! And, while JOURNY is a FAST channel today, we’ll soon have many other points of presence, from social media activations through a dedicated YouTube channel and mobile apps.
The NextTrip-FINN partnership announcement mentions "immersive experiential campaigns." (I don't know exactly what this means, but it sounds like something that would dovetail especially well with travel and wellness tourism content.) Can you share examples of what these campaigns might look like, and how they will be leveraged to boost revenue and brand engagement?
We are firm believers that in a world of infinite content and fractured attention, the only real and sustainable advantage is building authentic relationships with communities that engage with your brand.
Several NextTrip staff come out of eSports and video games, which means we have been around platforms that don't just sell attention - they facilitate transactions with passionate fans where purchase intent is already high. Brands pay to participate in genuine communities rather than interrupt them with banner ads. With that in mind, JOURNY offers experiential and media-driven brand activations ranging from influencer-led content to fully integrated cross-platform campaigns. These activations allow brands to align with meaningful storytelling, travel, and in-person connection through the lens of JOURNY’s unique global audience.
That announcement also mentions producing JOURNY Originals. Can you tell me a bit about those, both in terms of the programming content and what type of brand integration they might incorporate?
JOURNY Originals are purpose-driven travel shows that explore culture, food, wellness, and connection around the globe. We have been pitching various levels of original production to suit a range of brand goals and budgets, from agile content creation to cinematic, celebrity-led storytelling.
Let me give you a concrete example, using a format that has already resulted in an inked deal.
TIDE is a vibrant travel-and-food series set aboard a cruise ship with a unique twist, blending cultural discovery with the art of dining. Our pop-up restaurant isn’t just for show. Located on the ship’s open deck, it’s a real dining venue where passengers can enjoy one-of-a-kind menus inspired by each port of call where our charismatic host steps ashore to uncover the heart of the destination, exploring vibrant markets, family-run farms, artisan cafés, workshops, and hidden local gems. Along the way, they connect with people, share spontaneous encounters, and gather unique ingredients that will inspire the next day’s pop-up dining experience onboard. Every meal is an event, blending storytelling, culture, and unforgettable flavours.
Cruise passengers can reserve seats at the pop-up and be part of the filming, sharing the table with the host, tasting each course, and reacting on camera to the flavours and stories. Audiences see authentic, unscripted reactions and conversations, making them feel like they’re sitting at the table too. And our brand partners on the cruise ship: the pop-up becomes a highlight of the voyage, adding an exclusive, buzz-worthy event to the itinerary.
I read the Yahoo Finance piece about JOURNY TV's partnership with Jungle Creations. Can you give me some insight into how Jungle Creations' social storytelling expertise and influencer-led campaigns will support JOURNY TV's growth as a FAST channel?
Viewers need to be able to find the channel and fall in love with it. Travel thrives on social because it fuels our desire for moments that transport us beyond the mundane. It creates pocket universes, full of moments of wonder.
Big brands like Expedia have achieved notable success with long-form content, particularly through the creation of travel guides for various resorts, which generate substantial watch time. But they also incorporate social-savvy formats and memes, while employing a well-established online video strategy through the use of listicle-style content (“e.g. 5 Things to Do While Visiting Japan”)
So Jungle Creations have put together a very detailed plan for building our awareness. For example, Instagram will become a visual showcase for the channel’s brand identity, a blend of travel imagery, snackable video and interactive stories. As our social reach grows, so will our FAST audience, and the opportunities for our partners.
Are there plans to co-develop branded content or shoppable travel campaigns that will run on both JOURNY's owned channels and Jungle Creations' social brands?
We have a number of fantastic partners and ongoing conversations with brands, content creators and channels that will help us grow quickly, and we look forward to talking to Streaming Media about them when they are signed!
Do you see the Jungle Creations partnership helping to open up new sponsorship opportunities like travel gear and consumer lifestyle brands that weren't accessible before?
I do. Jungle has a phenomenal reach of something like 150m. Meanwhile, FINN Partners has offices with over 40 countries and represents 200 travel groups. You only have to glance at Merchandising on Amazon Prime Video to see how we might bring everything together in a one-stop-shop for media, influencers, and brands. The key, as always, in any content aggregation is attribution, and the ability to measure and apportion revenue. That’s why we say JOURNY is “powered by NextTrip”: we are not just a media channel, we are creating a deep, data-driven set of tools to ensure ROI for our partners.
A channel focused on showcasing exciting travel destinations is international by definition, at least in a programming sense. Does JOURNY plan to pursue international distribution partnerships and establish itself as a global FAST brand, with the inherent differences and challenges of operating in other free streaming markets?
Bearing in mind that NextTrip only acquired JOURNY in April, we have already signed an agreement with KC Global Media, the brainchild of former Sony Executives Andy Kaplan and George Chien, who reach over 94 million pay TV homes and OTT subscribers in 19 markets across Asia. In fact, Andy is so enthused about our model and approach, he joined our Board of Directors this summer.
The old Ovation channel had been broadcast across a variety of FAST providers but hadn’t attracted enough attention to maintain its spot on the channel listings. With our influx of compelling content and expansive new revenue streams, we hope to quickly arrest and reverse that decline.
And to proselytize for a moment: the whole world wins when we take time to walk a mile in another’s shoes. We welcome conversation with broadcast partners who want to tap into the travel mindset and drive this exciting vertical forward.
How do you see emerging technologies like AI-driven content recommendations, server-guided and dynamic ad insertion, and real-time shoppable CTV integrations shaping JOURNY's evolution over the next few years?
I mentioned above that NextTrip is building a travel-technology ecosystem. Without giving too much of our roadmap away, you can look forward to a future of personalized travel planners, loyalty rewards and affiliate commerce opportunities.
For example, we are in the process of launching TravelMagazine.com, which represents our strategic vision in action: premium content driving qualified traffic into optimized conversion funnels, creating value throughout the customer journey. The site is optimized for smartphone users with responsive design and lightning-fast performance, with seamless affiliate funnels with contextual booking opportunities throughout content. The whole thing is built on Next.js, React, and Sanity CMS to ensure performance and future scalability.
That said, I wouldn’t want to lose sight of the fact that it is people who travel, not AIs. In order to survive the perfect storm approaching advertising (with AI Slop, ad blockers, and attention attrition meaning that companies are paying twice as much to reach people who are half as likely to buy) it is important to lean into the human experience and not regurgitate artificial gobbledygook.
Do you see JOURNY serving as a model for FAST's potential as a platform that could support commerce- and booking-driven channels rather than lean-back channels dependent on traditional advertising?
I do. We all know the adage “Cometh the hour, cometh the channel.” There is a fascinating alignment of the stars going on right now: increasing appetite for travel, the means for brands to engage directly with travelers, a huge unaddressed gap in the media market, and a real desire to regain connection.
I am reminded of another Streaming Media article, where Greg Bernard of Vizio talks about FAST 2.0. He predicted the rise of exclusives and originals, so FAST can scale and grow, although he was worried about the cost of making that programming. I think, in travel, we have the perfect ecosystem to mitigate those costs and provide a win-win at scale, for broadcasters and brands alike.
Related Articles
The rapid growth of FAST channels in 2024 shows no signs of slowing, with ad-supported streaming set to dominate as its popularity rises worldwide and the gap between ad-supported and ad-free tiers widens. But with the space evolving so quickly, one question lingers: how long can this momentum last? FAST Channels TV has just released its What to Expect from FAST in 2025 Trends Report, and Russell Foy, CEO of FAST Channels TV, outlines how FAST platforms can remain competitive in this rapidly developing streaming space.
27 Jan 2025
With Web3 nearly upon us, is a new generation of Free Ad-Supported Television--FAST 2.0--on the horizon? How will it differ from FAST's current iteration, and what will its evolution mean to consumers, content companies, and tech providers? LG's Matthew Durgin, Vizio's Greg Barnard, and Best Ever Channels' Jonathon Barbato weigh in on FAST's fast-approaching future in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.
14 Apr 2023