Nat Geo to Offer 80 Hours of Content at MIP

LONDON: National Geographic Television International (NGTI) is headed to MIPTV with more than 80 hours of new content, including the 4×52-minute series Great Migrations.

The epic wildlife series, which took film crews over some 420,000 miles in 20 countries, studies the migration habits and behaviors of hundreds of species, all captured in great detail using highly advanced technology. More than 800 hours of footage was shot and nearly 30 leading cinematographers participated in the project, including Bob Poole, Neil Rettig, and Beverly and Dereck Joubert. Alec Baldwin narrates the series.

Accompanying the four-part series are three 52-minute companion programs, which are ready to license. These include a music video that offers a narration-free, musical experience through the world of animal migrations; a behind-the-scenes video, telling the story about the crews that spent hours in trees, underwater and other unconventional spots to get their shots; and, a video about the science and scientists behind the study of migrations.

Included in NGTI’s slate are natural history shows from sister company National Geographic Television, including That Shouldn’t Fly, Death of a Sea Monster and The Rise of Black Wolf.

Also on offer will be newly acquired independent programming, such as Crocs of Katuma from Nature Conservation Films, Kangaroo Mob from 360 Degree Films, Dino Stampede from Prospero Productions and The Worm Hunters from Gulliver Media.

NGTI is working for the first time with Australian producers Looking Glass Pictures and Global Briefing. From Looking Glass Pictures, NGTI will be offering Locusts: Creatures of the Flood, which explores the lifecycle of the locust and the problems they have caused in Ethiopia and Australia. Meanwhile, from Global Briefing, Koala Hospital follows the work of koala rescuers.

Representing the tenth anniversary of the collapse of the twin towers in New York, Surviving 9/11, which focuses on the personal details of individuals who lived through the event, will be on hand. Also on offer will be Inside Lebanon Hostage Crisis, in which Terry Anderson shares his account of the physical and psychological effects of being held a hostage.

Leading NGTI’s science slate is Apocalypse, which looks at the phenomenon of dead birds and fish that were found in early 2011 in various places around the world and searches for explanations. Also from the science catalogue is Australia’s Great Flood, which looks at this natural disaster through eyewitness footage captured by those affected.

From NGTI’s slate of history titles comes the hour-long Vatican CSI, featuring a National Geographic-funded investigation that set out to exhume and test the alleged remains of a pair of early Christian martyred saints. Other history titles include Road to Collapse and The Hair that Changed History.

Rounding out NGTI’s slate of new series are Extreme Exposures, Wonders of the World, World’s Toughest Fixes, The Border 2 and Megastructure Breakdown 4.

Maurice van Sabben, the president of NGTI, commented: “This is our largest new programme slate for some time now and it is particularly fitting that it is being spearheaded by the awesome Great Migrations—arguably National Geographic Television’s finest production in its 45-year history. Demand for wildlife is always strong at the market but this year our natural history offering is particularly large and diverse, ranging as it does from blue-chip and animal–based science to ‘immersed’ presenters and ‘obs-doc’ filming styles. Hopefully this impressive range will ensure that we have wildlife films to meet all buyer requirements.”

He continued: “As ever, we are proud to represent programming from National Geographic Television, where skillful story-telling, experienced producers and exclusive access combine to create compelling high-end documentaries. And we are also delighted that our independent catalogue continues to grow through both new partnerships and enduring relationships with companies such as Nature Conservation Films, 360 Degree Films and Prospero Productions.”