By Beth J. Harpaz, Travel Editor
NEW YORK (AP) --Carnival Corp. is launching three TV programs about travel, vacations and cruising that will air on ABC, NBC and The CW networks beginning Oct. 1.
The three half-hour series will air on Saturday mornings, the company said Monday. Each show will have its own real-life narrative exploring seaside destinations, in-port adventures or the vacation experiences of real travelers.
Carnival Corp. owns more than 100 ships across 10 different cruise line brands, including Holland America, Princess, Fathom and Cunard in addition to Carnival Cruise Line. The shows will feature ships from all of Carnival Corp.'s cruise brands over the course of various episodes.
Carnival does not consider the programs infomercials, and there won't be explicit pitches for viewers to book cruises as the programs' stories unfold. But the shows will break for regular ads, including ads for Carnival brands, and channels airing the shows plan to sell ads for other products during the half-hour.
The shows are:
- "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin," airing on ABC affiliate channels. The show will follow Corwin, the host, on adventurous excursions in various ports, including wildlife-watching, kayaking, zip-lining, diving, rappelling and mountain-climbing.
- "The Voyager with Josh Garcia," airing on NBC stations. The show will follow Garcia, the host, as he meets locals in seaside destinations to explore history, culture, food and other stories.
- "Vacation Creation," airing on The CW network. The show will be hosted by "In Living Color" star Tommy Davidson and YouTube celebrity Andrea Feczko as they create personalized dream vacations for individuals, couples and families who've weathered hardships or are in need of hope or quality time together.
Carnival Corp.'s CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement that the shows are designed to reach a broad consumer audience and will illustrate "how much fun people have traveling the world by ocean," while helping to "dispel outdated myths about cruising."
Surveys have shown that people who take a cruise often become repeat cruisers, but the majority of Americans have never set foot on a cruise ship. Getting those non-cruisers to consider a cruise vacation is a huge challenge for the cruise industry. While millions of people cruise safely each year around the world, isolated incidents on ships tend to garner outsize attention, whether they're outbreaks of the norovirus or headlines about ships that become temporarily disabled at sea.
"Ocean Treks" and "The Voyager" are scheduled to air at 9 a.m. local time and "Vacation Creation" at 10:30 a.m. local time. Exact times in specific markets are subject to change.
The individuals and families featured on "Vacation Creation" are regular people, not actors or celebrities, who responded to a call to be considered for the show. Their trips are provided free other than paying taxes required by law.
Carnival partnered with Litton Entertainment, a company that specializes in Saturday-morning content, to develop and produce the programs. Litton syndicates the content to the networks.
Sean “Diddy” Combs seeks bail, citing changed circumstances and new evidence
Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a new request for bail on Friday, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean the hip-hop mogul should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail.
Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail have been rejected by two judges since his September arrest on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
He has been awaiting a May 5 trial at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.
In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a "far more robust" bail package that would subject the entertainer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers. But the amount of money they attach to the package remains $50 million, as they proposed before.
They also cite new evidence that they say "makes clear that the government's case is thin." That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government's claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced "freak off," a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
They wrote that the encounter was instead "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship" between Combs and his then-girlfriend.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional... Read More