TV programme profile Social T V

1 Read the profile. What is special about this

TV programme?

2 Read the profile again. Circle T (true),

F (false) or NI (no information).
1 The brothers don't use guidebooks on
their travels.
2 They got the idea for their travel
programme from people they met
at their restaurant.
3 People can watch Peeta Planet on
TV and on the internet.
4 The brothers plan to make more
TV programmes.
5 The Re-Do Factory manufactures
chic hijabs.
3 Answer the questions about the text.
1 How do people on social media help the Al
Awadhi brothers?
T F NI
T F NI
www.peetaplanet.com
T F NI
T F NI
Peeta Planet is an award-winning TV programme, and
T F NI
possibly the world’s first social media travel show. Two
Emirati brothers, Mohamed and Peyman Al Awadhi,
travel the world with no maps or city guides to help
them – just a social community following them on Twitter
and Facebook telling them what they would like to see.

2 How do we know that the TV Company hopes to

attract viewers who aren’t from the Middle East?
3 How is TV going to change in the future, according
to Mr Ali Khan?
4 Why does Barli Asmara think his appearance on
Peeta Planet might help his business?
5 What does Mohamed say the main aim of the TV
programme is?
4 Answer the questions with your own ideas.
1 Which TV programmes are popular in your country?
What’s your favourite?
2 Which types of programme do you think are the
most educational? Why?
3 Do you think social TV is going to become popular
in the future? Why / Why not?
The brothers got their idea for the show when they badly
needed a holiday after launching their first restaurant, Wild Peeta, in
Dubai. They didn’t know where to go, so they turned to their social
media contacts for ideas. People suggested they visit Sri Lanka, and
then they continued to guide the brothers once they got there, telling
them where to stay and what to see and do. They had a fantastic
time, enjoying experiences that couldn’t be found in any guidebook.
In the first season the brothers travelled to 12 different cities,
including Istanbul, Dublin, Seoul, Singapore, and Buenos Aires. The
show was broadcast on TV by Dubai One with Arabic and English
versions, and had a potential audience of 50 million viewers. There
were also more than 50,000 views on YouTube. The second season
takes them to Indonesia, Mexico, Johannesburg, San Jose, Santiago,
Amman, Rio de Janeiro, Athens, Rome and Madrid.
Mohamed insists that although he and his brother are the
presenters of Peeta Planet, the real stars are the people they meet.
They plan to make more programmes using this social network
style. Jonathan Ali Khan of Wild Planet Productions believes this idea
is the way forward for TV. 'People like to interact and participate
and become more involved in programmes, and the viewer is going
to become much more significant.'
In Jakarta, Indonesia, the brothers met fashion designer Barli
Asmara to talk about his hijabs. He said, 'I hope [by being on the
show] more people will know about Indonesia and our chic, yet
compliant hijab fashion.' In Rome, they visited the Re-Do Factory.
Five enterprising women set up the company in 2011. They were
tired of seeing how much fabric we throw away, so they started
reusing the fabric to produce new, fashionable clothes. Mohamed
was eager to take a turn on the sewing machine!
The brothers always travel wearing Emirati national dress, the
kandoura and ghutra. They hope to bring their own culture to people
whilst also learning about the customs and traditions of the places
they visit. But according to Mohamed, Peeta Planet is mainly about
showing how similar we all are – from simple things like enjoying
a football game, to sharing a song or a smile together. 'It doesn’t
matter what colour you are or what passport you hold,' he says.