BBC Studios Sells Two Music Documentary Series

BBC Studios has secured a raft of sales for the documentary series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution and Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World.

The three-part Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution tells the story of the people who forged a new form of music and dance that pioneered a social movement, while the four-part Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World rewinds to the birth of hip-hop and traces its role in the U.S. over the past 40 years.

Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution has been sold to Belgium (VRT), Canada (CHCH-TV), Czech Republic (Czech TV), Denmark (DR), Finland (Yle), France (ARTE), Germany (WDR/Arte), Netherlands (Zwart), Portugal (RTP), Spain (Movistar Plus+), Sweden (SVT) and BBC Player (India).

Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World has been picked up by Australia (SBS), Belgium (VRT), Finland (Yle), France and Germany (ARTE), Iceland (RÚV), Netherlands (Zwart), Norway (NRK), Portugal (RTP), Spain (Movistar Plus+) and the BBC Nordic channel, as well as Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

Both titles were co-produced with PBS, whilst Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World was also developed and executive produced by hip-hop legend Chuck D.

New documentaries from BBC Studios also include ABBA: Against the Odds, The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth and more.

Nick Percy, president of global markets, global media and streaming, said: “Music and its cultural legacy knows no borders, and documentaries in the pop culture genre that educate and celebrate the foundations of iconic music genres and their stars are traveling well internationally.

“The pop culture genre is having a real moment: In recent years we saw Freddie Mercury: The Final Act snapped up by customers around the world and win multiple awards including an International Emmy, and Fight the Power has followed in its footsteps, receiving accolades and award nominations. We can already see that the care given by Specialist Factual Productions to bring the authentic story of disco to screens is being appreciated by audiences and customers alike and we’re really excited to present ABBA: Against the Odds to buyers at Showcase as the next defining show in this genre.”