London – BBC Worldwide has announced a programme deal with China’s Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU), offering information, entertainment and communication.

The programmes will be available as VOD across China.

This deal, consisting of BBC factual and drama programmes, marks the milestone for Sohu to invest more resources in U.K. drama by the BBC.

“We are very excited about this deal with Sohu,” said Pierre Cheung, VP and GM of BBC Worldwide China. “While BBC’s factual programmes have steadily risen in popularity in China, U.K. drama has been experiencing a surge in popularity here, driven by the extreme popularity of U.K. Drama series. With this new deal, viewers in China will have access to more highly acclaimed and award-winning BBC dramas, as well as stunning high definition documentaries.”

“BBC enjoys a reputation of producing programmes that are high quality, informative and entertaining,” said Charles Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu.com. “We are very happy to be able to provide BBC’s documentaries and dramas to our viewers on our online platform, and are confident that the service will bring in more viewers to Sohu.com.”

Some of the factual programmes in the deal include Earthflight, which takes viewers on a breathtaking flight on the wings of birds across six continents experiencing some of the world’s greatest natural spectacles from a bird’s-eye view; Frozen Planet, the ultimate portrait of Earth’s polar regions, the last great wilderness on the plane, and The British – a gripping drama reconstruction with the latest CGI, stunning cinematography, amazing time-lapse and aerial footage offering  a fresh take on how Britain took shape.

Drama titles in the deal include black comedy and psychological thriller television series Mad Dog; Ripper Street, a TV series set in Whitechapel in London’s East End in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders; fantasy series Sinbad; and Silk, a courtroom drama about the dilemmas and problems that modern day barristers face.