Bangkok – BBC Worldwide announced on May 22 two new programme sales deals in Thailand. The deals were signed with Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS), the primary free-to-air TV broadcaster in Thailand, and STG Mediaplex, a third-party content aggregator that acquires content based on their clients’ business model.
The deal with Thai PBS will see BBC Worldwide providing key natural history titles such as David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities (series one & two), a series which follows award-winning broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, as he reveals the animals that have intrigued him the most; natural history title Hidden Kingdoms, which takes viewers into a unique and unexplored miniature world of the planet’s smaller animals; and Tarsier Tails, a 25-part series that reveals the secret world of the elusive Tarsiers. Other programmes in the deal include entertainment and preschool titles such as Robbie Williams – One Night at the Palladium and The Numtums (series one).
The deal with STG Mediaplex, consisting of natural history and factual titles, include Human Planet, the first BBC natural history programme to focus entirely on human beings as a subject, Expedition Tiger, a series that tracks the jungles and mountains of Bhutan in search of a secret tiger population; and Top Gear Korea (series one & two), the South Korean adaptation of the popular Top Gear series.
“The deals in Thailand mark a milestone for BBC Worldwide as we continue to forge our footprint across Asia,” said Mark Whitehead, SVP & GM South East Asia and Channels Lead Asia, BBC Worldwide, Asia. “Thailand has always been a key market for BBC Worldwide, and we are very excited to be able to expand our presence here with the country’s public broadcasting service, Thai PBS, and STG Mediaplex.”
“BBC Worldwide have been great partners of Thai PBS and we are happy to extend our relationship with them,” said Suwit Sasanapichit, Director of Programme Bureau, Thai Public Broadcasting Service. “Being the primary free-to-air TV broadcaster, we have the duty to air programmes with quality content and BBC Worldwide is able to provide quality programmes that meet our mission.”
“Viewers in Thailand understand and appreciate quality content. With BBC ‘s reputation for producing top quality and award-winning natural history and factual genres, we believe that the newly acquired programmes will be very well received in Thailand,” said Joe Suteestarpon, Managing Director, STG Mediaplex.