On Saturday, April 21, Animal Planet will continue its rapid growth off of the television screen with the launch of the nationally syndicated radio program “Animal Planet Radio.” Hosted by award-winning Chicago Tribune Media Services Pet Columnist Steve Dale, whose syndicated pieces appear in more than 100 newspapers around the country, the hour-long animal advice and information program will debut on 49 radio stations in markets ranging from Anchorage to Dallas to Tampa across the U.S.
During “Animal Planet Radio,” Dale will offer listeners direct access to animal enthusiasts and experts, the latest pet news,fanciful feature stories and interviews, and special call-in and listener e-mail segments for a lively and entertaining exploration of the many facets of the animal world. In addition, the programwill feature regular elements about current and upcoming AnimalPlanet series and specials in segments that will offer listenersthe opportunity to hear from the people featured in the network’sprogramming. In addition, Internet users will be able to hearselected segments from the program on the Animal Planet website atwww.discovery.com.
“Animal Planet Radio” marks another step in the growth of the network’s brand. Animal Planet’s other notable recent brand extensions include a special aisle at Toys ‘R Us stores around the world; the successful and growing CROCODILE HUNTER toy line; and”Animal Planet Live,” a new attraction based on the networks most popular programs that recently launched at the Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood.
In addition to his syndicated column, Steve Dale serve three-year stint as the “Pet Expert” on the WGN TV morning news in Chicago. He has also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and”Pets: Part of the Family” and on various Animal Planet programs,including PETSBURGH USA and A PET STORY. Dale will also soon launcha column called “Reigning Cats and Dogs” in Cats and Dog Worldmagazines and is also the senior columnist at Pet Life magazine. Heis currently the host of “Pet Central,” heard on WGN Radio inChicago and on the Internet (www.wgnradio.com) and a syndicateddaily feature heard on 50 radio stations, called “The Pet News withSteve Dale.”
Dale’s radio work has earned him several awards; he’s also won several honors by the Dog and Cat Writers’ Association for his newspaper columns, including columnist of the year.
“It’s awesome to be associated with Animal Planet, although in my case, I’m more likely to hunt fleas than crocodiles,” Dale says.
Animal Planet Radio is produced and syndicated by Matrix Media Inc., a Chicago-based radio syndication firm.
Launched in October 1996, and now available in 69.3 million homes, Animal Planet offers a wide range of television entertainment including dramatic reality-based series, talk shows,original fictional programming, high-quality children’s shows,documentaries, and more. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Science Channel,Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, and Discovery en Español. Theunit also markets and distributes BBC America. Visit Animal Planet on the Web at www.animalplanet.com.