Asian Broadcasters Sign Up for Pillars

MUNICH: The TV adaptation of Ken Follett’s international bestseller The Pillars of the Earth is making its way to a number of Asian territories, with Tandem Communications scoring deals with NHK and KBS, among others.

In Japan, NHK is set to air Pillars. A further sale was confirmed with KBS for South Korea. STAR Movies and FOX are on board for the broadcasts in Southeast Asian territories. The series will hit the air in February 2011.

“We are thrilled to have found the perfect home for Pillars in Japan,” said Tim Halkin, partner and managing director at Tandem. “Since they began broadcasting in 1953, NHK has been dedicated to bringing its viewers the very best of domestic and international programming, which makes their ardent support of this series very rewarding. We are equally happy to have found wonderful broadcasters for Pillars in Southeast Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.” 
 
“We are very proud to present the series on our channel,” commented Yukihiro Shibata, the senior producer at the program development center within the programming department at NHK. “Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth is a very popular novel here as well and I read it myself as a story with the firm belief in the vital importance of reason over violence, which is exactly what we need to rediscover in this time and age. The television series perfectly re-enacts the perspective of Mr. Follett’s world and we definitely believe that our viewers will enjoy the show.”

“Ken Follett’s storytelling artistry presents a richness and brilliance we dream about when searching for outstanding properties for event television,” remarked Ridley Scott of Scott Free. “The eight-hour television adaptation of his monumental novel The Pillars of the Earth is everything we could have hoped for. We’re extremely happy that this outstanding series will be seen in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and so many other countries in the region.”
 
“I am delighted with the series of The Pillars of the Earth—script, cast, direction, everything—and thrilled that it is going to be shown in Japan on NHK, in South Korea on KBS and in Southeast Asia on STAR Movies and FOX,” added Follett.