BBC Worldwide Sends Shows to Greater China

BEIJING/HONG KONG: BBC Worldwide has landed two deals in Greater China, one with TVB, the primary free-to-air TV broadcaster in Hong Kong, and one with Tencent, a leading provider of Internet services in China.

The deal with TVB is for a raft of programming, notably natural history and factual. This includes How to Build a Planet, featuring Richard Hammond; Supergiant Animals, led by Steve Backshall; and Deadly Pole to Pole, also with Backshall. Further programs include Sherlock season three, Michela's Classic Italian and the fourth season of Show Me Show Me.

Tencent acquired a number of factual programs, with more than 60 natural history and factual titles to become available on the VOD service. Titles included in the deal are, among others, Frozen Planet and Penguins: Spy in the Huddle.

“We are extremely excited about the two new deals,” said Pierre Cheung, the VP and general manager for Greater China at BBC Worldwide. “TVB has been a trusted partner of BBC Worldwide for many years now, and this deal has cemented our relationship. With Tencent, we’ve had immense success with drama titles in the past, with series one of Primeval raking in its highest ratings at 8 million views by the end of March 2014. Now, we are eager to explore new grounds with Tencent and expand our offerings on their VOD service. At BBC Worldwide, we continually strive to deliver programmes that are different and innovative, and we believe that this is reflected by the quality of our shows.”

“We had previously worked with BBC Worldwide to provide drama titles, and over the course of our relationship, we have seen its popularity soar. With the growing demand for factual content coupled with BBC Worldwide’s reputation for quality programmes, we are confident that the natural and factual titles will receive the same or even greater traction with our users,” said Suman Wang, the chief editor of Tencent Video.