Beijing – BBC Worldwide yesterday announced August 22 the sale of 300 hours of programmes to four key clients in China.
The announcement was made at the fourth annual China Showcase in Beijing. The event saw BBC Worldwide unveil hundreds of new programme offerings from a variety of genres to over 100 industry partners in the country. It also serves as a forum to exchange ideas for future collaborations.
The deals consist predominately of natural history and factual titles including David Beckham: Into the Unknown, the latest documentary from the international icon featuring Beckham and three of his closest friends who travel to Brazil in a once in a lifetime experience; Museum Secrets where viewers are invited on a journey into the innards of the world’s most extraordinary museums to discover dark and strange secrets behind some of the artefacts; and Horizon, the long-running BBC popular science documentary programme.
The deals signed with Shanghai Media Group ICS, CCTV, DOXTV, and Wingsmedia just before China Showcase will see programmes aired on the various broadcasters’ platforms.
“These deals reinforce the relationships with several of our key partners in China. For many years, we have provided them with quality content that their viewers demand. These 300 hours of programmes further cement our relationship with them,” said Pierre Cheung, VP and GM, Greater China, BBC Worldwide.
At this year’s event Henrietta Hurford-Jones, Director of Children’s, and Jonny Keeling, Executive Producer at BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) and BBC NHU Children’s, shared insights into CBeebies and upcoming natural history programmes from the BBC. Senior executives, Paul Dempsey, President Global Markets, David Weiland, EVP Asia, and Pierre Cheung, VP and GM, Greater China were also on hand to share insights about BBC Worldwide as well as its business in Asia and China. And in a China Showcase first, close to 100 fans were treated to a Top Gear fashion show as well as special behind-the-scenes footage from original BBC series, Orphan Black and Sherlock.
“China is an important market for BBC Worldwide and is a key plank in the company’s strategy. Over the years, we have successfully partnered on several natural history co-productions. We’ve also worked with our partners to provide high quality content for their platforms. Over the last year, BBC Worldwide has invested more in original premium content, which is already delivering new series of premium drama and natural history programming like Sherlock and The Hunt. With these new opportunities in the pipeline, we look forward to many more successful partnerships in China, “said David Weiland, EVP Asia.
