Klik Studios, the digital-first channel management and rights studio, has announced a landmark licensing agreement with the BBC, granting worldwide rights to the iconic archive of Parkinson chat show episodes that ran on BBC One from 1971 to 1982. The deal also includes episodes from 1998, when the series returned for a triumphant second run on BBC One.
The deal adds to Klik Studios’ existing archive of Parkinson episodes, which aired on ITV from 2004-07. Together, the two collections represent one of the most significant bodies of work in British broadcasting history – more than three decades of landmark interviews with cultural figures including Muhammad Ali, John Lennon, Lauren Bacall, Orson Welles and Bing Crosby. Klik has also acquired the rights to Parkinson in Australia, which was commissioned by and aired on ABC from 1979-83.
The relationship with the Parkinson estate is among Klik Studios’ most significant. The company manages The Michael Parkinson Channel on YouTube and in 2024 commissioned Virtually Parkinson, an award-winning AI podcast. Created with the full support and involvement of the Parkinson family, the series generated significant industry attention for its ethical approach to recreating the late Sir Michael Parkinson’s voice and interview style.
Mike Parkinson, representing the Parkinson family, said: “We’ve worked closely with the Klik Studios team for some time now, and the trust we’ve built together made this the obvious next step. My father’s BBC years contain some of the most extraordinary interviews he ever had, and we’re delighted that they’ll now find a new generation of viewers through a partnership we genuinely believe in.”
Lara Sword, Head of Factual Network at Klik Studios, said, “This is a truly historic moment for us. We’ve been proud custodians of the ITV archive and the YouTube channel for some time, but adding the early BBC years alongside that changes the scale of what we can do entirely. The Parkinson archive is one of the great documents of twentieth century culture — and there is simply nothing else like it.”
Klik Studios is a digital-first channel management and rights studio, operating across YouTube and social platforms on behalf of some of the world’s leading content owners. Part of Seraverse, a Serafin company – whose portfolio also includes scripted distributor Eccho Rights, factual distributor BossaNova and factual producer Curve Media – the company manages channels and digital rights across scripted, factual and entertainment formats globally.
