BBC Studios Back Catalog Titles Find New Homes Across EMEA

BBC Studios has sold titles from its scripted and factual back catalogs in key territories across Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

In Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery (France and French overseas territories); Arte.tv, M6+ and Mediawan (France); Network 4 (Hungary); and Sky Italia (Italy) all secured scripted packages for their services.

Arte.tv picked up the FVOD rights for a selection of period dramas and literary adaptations for audiences in French- and German-speaking territories, including War & Peace, Les Misérables, Little Dorrit, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, as well as the title Top of the Lake and the coming-of-age drama In My Skin.

Warner Bros. Discovery acquired a package for Max, which launched in France earlier this year. The package includes Sherlock, Luther, Misfits, The North Water and seasons one and two of Extras.

M6+ took a range of star-studded costume dramas for its subscribers, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

Sky Italia, meanwhile, nabbed the crime titles Sister Boniface (seasons one through three), Death in Paradise (seasons one through 12 and the 2022 Christmas special) and Luther (seasons one through five).

Hungary’s Network 4 picked up seasons one through 13 of Death in Paradise, seasons one and two of Beyond Paradise, seasons one and two of The Chelsea Detective and seasons 16 and 17 of Silent Witness.

Elsewhere, Mediawan acquired seasons eight through 13 of Doctor Who, including specials, for its basic pay and cable channel AB1.

“BBC Studios has an unrivaled scripted catalog of timeless classics, long-running audience favorites and fresh new content,” said Rebecca Ransley, senior VP of scripted for EMEA at BBC Studios. “These sales demonstrate their popularity with customers continuing to invest in titles that already have a proven track record with audiences worldwide.”

Unscripted packages were secured across CEE and sub-Saharan Africa with AMC Networks International Central and Northern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia) and SABC (South Africa).

AMC Networks International Central and Northern Europe picked up a range of culinary titles, including season four of The Great South African Bake Off and Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas, as well as science documentaries such as Earth and Universe.

In South Africa, SABC licensed several natural history titles, including Spy in the Ocean, Serengeti II, Serengeti III, Frozen Planet II and Wild Scandinavia.

Hungary’s MTVA, TV2 Media Group and Network 4 acquired titles across a range of genres. MTVA acquired seasons one and two of the preschool hit Bluey, the music documentary ABBA: Against the Odds, the natural history series Mammals and the crime drama Sherwood.

TV2 Media Group picked up long-running hits for its viewers, including The Great British Bake Off, Extras, The Office, Allo Allo, You Rang My Lord and Top Gear.

“These new deals underscore the breadth and depth of our factual catalog, ranging from the Planet series to Top Gear,” noted Chris Kinsman, senior VP of factual for EMEA at BBC Studios. “We’re thrilled that our award-winning and innovative unscripted content continues to reach new audiences across the region.”