Production company name?
Guru Productions
When was the company founded?
2001 with Neville Passmore and Trevor Cochrane launching the company after completing a 6 episode series for Channel 7 Perth.
Where are you based and which states did you film in for 22 / 23 / 24 productions?
We are based in Subiaco, Perth WA and produce content for Channel 9 and Channel 5 Singapore. In 2022, 23 and 24 we filmed in all states of Australia except Tasmania. We filmed in Australian territories including Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling islands & Lord Howe Island. We filmed internationally in Singapore, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Indonesia, Antarctica, Japan, Argentina, The Philippines, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, England, Wales, Scotland and the USA.
How many full-time equivalent staff and how many does it expand to during production?
We currently have 18 FTE and 26 PTE team members on a Regular employment basis.
What is your ownership model and who are key principals?
The company is a family owned business by Trevor Cochrane and Shiori Yanagishima.
Describe the genres you specialise in for production?
We specialise in lifestyle content production with a strong focus in International travel, local travel in Western Australia, nationwide travel, national gardening series and state, national and international food series. We also produced recently Helicopter Heroes a documentary one hour special for prime time commissioned by Channel 9, and Innovation Nation, a documentary series focused on revealing the latest innovations in medical, tech, Ag and space industries. We also had the new national series Good Chef Hunting last year on 9. In 2023 we launch The Garden Revolution a 13 episode spin off from the Australian The Garden Gurus series on Channel 5 Nationally in Singapore. Guru productions guided the production filmed in Singapore with Singaporean talent and did all post production in Australia.
What have been some of your notable credits and with which broadcasters / streamers?
We recently sold 278 episodes of The Garden Gurus, Explore TV, Destination Australia, Destination WA, Our State on a Plate and Good Chef Hunting to ROKU Television North America with their 60 million subscribers. The Garden Gurus series is regularly seen internationally in 86 countries in 7 languages and Explore TV is seen in 141 countries in 14 languages. In 2022 we established a base in Singapore providing programs to Media Corp and specifically Channel 5 with The Garden Gurus Singapore launching and in 2025 we will launch a new series called The Catch nationally in prime time on Channel 5 and across Australia on Channel 9.
What’s coming up on your slate and how many projects are in active development?
We are currently in production for The Garden Gurus series 37 (Channel 9, 9Life and 9NOW). Our State on a Plate series 10 (Channel 9 and 9NOW). Explore TV series 18 (Channel 9, 9GEM and 9NOW) filmed in Antarctica, Argentina, The Philippines and Uluru, and Innovation Nation series 2 (Channel 9) and in Singapore and Western Australia for series 1 of The Catch for Channel 5.
Do you receive unsolicited material, what are you looking for, how should people pitch projects?
We have in recent years produced a number of different commissioned series including Helicopter Heroes, Ready 4 Adventure, Explore WA and Good Chef Hunting to name a few. It’s always a discussion but we are always open to developing new innovative ideas www.info@guruproductions.tv . We currently have another 2 unique series in development for 2025 and 2026 launches.
What change would you most like to see when it comes to commissions?
Television production is a challenge and profit margins for networks have never been smaller so investment levels are not where they need to be but it would be wonderful to see the screen industry funding that is available spent on projects that actually reach more Australians. Guru Productions have 44 episodes of television on 9NOW currently with no government funding support supplied. The current formula means production houses that employ large numbers of industry artists but produce material such as lifestyle, reality and genres not drama and factual do not receive any funding support from government entities such as Screenwest. These business continue to thrive though through innovative funding models and continue to remain truly sustainable when these other sectors cannot seem to survive without significant government funding support.
links to content on ABC
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