NHK, Al Jazeera Children’s Partner on Science Series

CANNES: NHK and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) are co-producing a new series, called Discover Science, which will teach kids about science through experiments.

Production on the 26×14-minute show is being led by NHK Educational Corporation (NED), an NHK affiliate that produces content for NHK’s educational channel. Discover Science has opted not to use CGI or talking heads—the entire series will focus on conducting actual experiments. The co-production deal builds on an existing relationship between NED and JCC, with the two companies exchanging kids’ programs since JCC’s launch in 2005.

NHK’s executive managing director, Hidemi Hyuga, noted: “We respect JCC’s commitment to offering high-quality programs to the Arab world. As a public broadcaster with a designated educational channel, NHK shares JCC’s goal of enlightening children’s minds through television. I believe Discover Science is a wonderful way to achieve that goal, and I hope it will reach other territories as well.”

Mahmoud Bouneb, the executive general manager of JCC, added: "Completing a co-produced scientific program of this scale was not a simple task, and in order to provide children with credible scientific material that is delivered in an impressive and entertaining manner, we chose to co- produce the program with a company that has extensive experience. Discover Science, which JCC will begin to air in September, is a step in the path to enhancing our production capabilities and diversifying our sources of income and programs making.”