WTFN

WTFN is an Australian television production company based in Melbourne. Formed in 2001 by Daryl Talbot and Steve Oemcke, the company is known for producing branded content, but it has more recently expanded into creating lifestyle, documentary and drama content.

WTFN Entertainment Pty Ltd
IndustryProduction company
Founded2001 (2001) in Melbourne
Headquarters
Melbourne
,
Australia
Key people
  • Daryl Talbot (CEO)
  • Steve Oemcke (Director of Content)
Websitewtfn.com

History

WTFN was founded by Daryl Talbot and Steve Oemcke in 2001.[1] Talbot, a former journalist for the Bendigo Advertiser, had worked in television for a number of years and produced Postcards for Nine, and Oemcke had found his beginnings working at a Channel 8 newsroom in central Victoria.[1][2]

The company's first production was a Network Ten show, Bread, an observational series following people beginning a business sponsored by Sensis.[1][3] Over the next decade, the company quickly gained prominence producing titles that included Coxy's Big Break, Bondi Vet, and The Living Room.[1][4] Bondi Vet has gone on to be sold in over 100 countries.[2]

In 2012, the company launched international distribution company Fred Media, which represents both WTFN's programs and programs from a number of other Australian production houses.[5] The company has signed a number of international content output deals, including a 2011 deal with US based Discovery Communications,[6] a 2012 deal with South African Okhule Media,[7] and a 2014 deal with Chinese broadcaster Tianjin TV.[8] It opened a Los Angeles based office in 2012.[9]

The company received attention in 2012 after the broadcast of its branded content program McDonalds's Gets Grilled on Seven. The documentary was the recipient of allegations of bias due to it being funded by McDonald's but WTFN and Seven defended the program, saying that the producers maintained full editorial control over the content.[10]

In 2013, WTFN made a move into producing drama content after acquiring production company The Film Company and appointing its head, Richard Keddie, as WTFN's Director of Drama and Features.[11] WTFN had its first foray into Feature films in 2016 with the release of Oddball starring Shane Jacobson.[2]

The name WTFN derives from a conversation Talbot and Oemcke had when starting the business. When discussing how to raise funding for their first pilot, one of the pair suggested putting in the money themselves and the other responded with "why the fuck not?", a phrase which was condensed into WTFN.[1][12]

Productions

Television
  • A Pub Too Far
  • Ask the Doctor
  • Australia Plays Broadway
  • Beyond the Boundary
  • Bollywood Star
  • Bondi Vet
  • Bread
  • Coxy's Big Break
  • Danger! Wild Animals
  • Discover Downunder
  • Don't Come Monday
  • Dr. Lisa to the Rescue
  • Dream Job
  • Emergency
  • Free Sh!t Men
  • G'day Cirque du Soleil
  • Go For Your Life
  • Great Innovators: The Rise of Australian Wine
  • Guide to the Good Life
  • Holidays For Sale
  • Jade's Quest: To the Ends of the Earth
  • Just Go
  • Keeping Up with the Joneses
  • Larry the Wonderpup
  • Lee Chan's World Food Tour
  • Long Lost Family
  • Lost & Found
  • McDonald's Gets Grilled
  • Meet the Menagerie
  • Megafactories
  • Melbourne Woman
  • Mercurio's Menu
  • Miguel's Feasts
  • Oddball: The Nature of a Movie
  • On Display
  • On Thin Ice – Jade's Polar Dream
  • Operation Thailand
  • Our Wild Weather
  • Paramedics
  • Real Rangers
  • Shopping for Love
  • Sudden Impact
  • Supercar Showdown
  • Sydney Harbour Patrol
  • Talk to the Animals
  • Tattoo Tales
  • Teen Mom Australia
  • Test Drive
  • The Great Water Challenge
  • The Great Weekend
  • The Living Room
  • The Making Of…
  • The People Speak
  • The Renovation King
  • The Ultimate Rider
  • The Wild Life of Tim Faulkner
  • Tony Robinson Down Under (a.k.a. Tony Robinson Explores Australia)
  • Tony Robinson's London Games Unearthed
  • Tony Robinson's Time Travels
  • Tony Robinson's Time Walks
  • Tony Robinson's Tour of Duty
  • Travels with the Bondi Vet
  • Trishna & Krishna: The Quest for Separate Lives
  • Vet on the Hill
  • We're Talking Animals
  • Wilde About Golf
  • Your Very First Puppy

Film

References
  1. Knox, David (2 October 2013). "Is 'Branded TV' a dirty word?". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  2. Kearney, Mark (9 May 2016). "Former Bendigo Advertiser journalist awarded Logie for The Living Room". Bendigo Advertiser.
  3. "WTFN Mixes Commissioned And Brand Funded Programming". MediaWeek. 10 June 2008.
  4. Knox, David (2 September 2013). "Former FremantleMedia exec joins WTFN". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  5. Delaney, Colin (2 October 2012). "WTFN launches Fred Media in time for MIPCOM – Mumbrella". Mumbrella. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  6. Knox, David (20 April 2011). "WTFN signs output deal with Discovery Channels". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  7. Knox, David (5 October 2012). "WTFN forges South African deal". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  8. Knox, David (6 February 2014). "WTFN signs co-production deal with Chinese broadcaster". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  9. Knox, David (5 March 2012). "WTFN exec appointments". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  10. Burgess, Matthew (2 April 2012). "Producer defends McDonald's documentary". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  11. Knox, David (29 April 2013). "WTFN acquires drama company". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  12. Butler, Ben (2 December 2014). "Taxing times for a tardy TV veteran". The Australian.
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