BBC Worldwide Natural History Builds in Asia

CANNES: BBC Worldwide has licensed a slate of natural-history programming to Asian broadcasters, including selling Life into Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

The Korean broadcaster KBS has taken on Life, South Pacific and the second season of All About Animals, among others, as part of a natural history output deal.

WOWOW in Japan is airing Nature’s Great Events, South Pacific, Yellowstone and Life on its BBC Earth branded block. NHK, meanwhile, has come on board for Alastair Fothergill’s epic series Frozen Planet.

In Malaysia, RTM has scooped up Nature’s Great Events and Superswarms. HTV3 in Vietnam will air Life, among other titles, via a licensing deal clinched between BBC Worldwide and TVM.

Joyce Yeung, the senior VP and general manager for sales and distribution for Asia, commented: “Our broad range of natural-history titles have always been very popular with Asian audiences. When you have broadcasters such as NHK committing to Frozen Planet two years ahead of its delivery date, it shows the amount of trust there is in the high quality output of the BBC’s Natural History Unit and independent producers like John Downer Productions.”