Discover Science Continues to Gain Momentum

CANNES: NHK/NHK Educational Corporation and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel have secured Germany’s SWR, UR of Sweden and Korea’s EBS as co-producers for Discover Science, which is to air on Astro in Malaysia and Brunei. 

The sciencetainment series offers explanations of the theories of science through experiments. A total of 26 episodes have been completed, with NHK Enterprises distributing the show worldwide. 

Walter Sucher, the head of the department of science and education at SWR, commented, "Our producers were excited about this series because it brings scientific phenomena from the lab into the real world. And in doing so it also helps us to understand better what may be called ‘the unnatural nature of science’. Because what seems to be logic in little things does not necessarily have to work on a larger scale—or does it? It does, and Discover Science makes us understand why."

Kenichi Murakami, the president and CEO of NHK Educational Corporation, said, “We are very happy that so many broadcasters have shown interest at such an early stage. We believe this shows how much need there is for good science programs presented in a fun way. We did produce the series with the mindset to make it something that would fit in any country or any program, so we are happy to see so many people taking interest.”

Mahmoud Bouneb, the executive general manager of Al Jazeera Children’s Channel, stated, “We are pleased to see the fruit of our co-production with NHK/NED being positively received by broadcasters around the world for both English and Arabic versions; we are also looking forward to more co-productions with the NHK on science, technology and environment.”

Yukihiko Amagi, the VP who oversees international distribution at NHK Enterprises, added, “NEP is very happy to be given the opportunity to be the official distributor of this series. We have high expectations for this series as it is designed to fit to broad genres, like science, children, education and pure entertainment.”