Cannes – At MIPCOM, NHK’s international distribution affiliate NHK Enterprises Inc. (NEP) and Thailand’s leading multimedia corporation MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT) have signed a deal to license NHK’s science-entertainment format The New Anatomy Show,which was a big hit in Japan when it aired from 2007 to 2009 on NHK’s main channel, General TV.

The deal includes co-production of a Thai version. MCOT and NEP will develop the format for teenagers, and the one-hour Thai version will be aired weekly in primetime on MCOT’s free-to-air terrestrial channel Modernine from January 2014.

MCOT President, Dr. Anek Permvongseni said: “We’re thrilled to be able to collaborate with NHK Enterprises on The New Anatomy Show which is a high-quality edutainment programme. I am confident that the success of this programme will strengthen Modernine’s line-up for audiences, especially the teenage audience.”

NEP’s Senior Corporate Officer for International Sales, Fumio Narashima said: “I’m happy that we’re going ahead since the deal after three years of negotiations. I’m looking forward to seeing how the young audience in Thailand enjoys our programme.”

Last year, 4,600 NHK programmes were sold to 37 countries and regions, and drama programmes were especially popular in Asian countries. This initiative has been chosen as one of the Japanese government’s research projects to push out Japanese content internationally.