ZDFE & Off the Fence Close Package Deal with UKTV

ZDF Enterprises and its wholly owned subsidiary Off the Fence have secured a volume deal with UKTV that will see the British broadcaster acquire 40 hours of factual content for the specialist channels Eden and Yesterday.

Included in the deal is ZDF Enterprises’ new World War II history documentary, Frontlines (Impossible Factual), which will air on Yesterday. The Off the Fence nature series production Wild Edens, exploring the wild and beauty of Russia, Turkey and South Asia, will run on Eden.

Additionally, ZDF Enterprises has secured pre-investment from UKTV for two natural-history series for Eden. They are Africa from Above, produced by Off the Fence, covering every aspect of the continent; and Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall, produced by Off the Fence Productions for CuriosityStream in association with ZDF Enterprises. Also licensed to UKTV for Eden is Equator—The Line of Life, a three-part series exploring what is known in science as the “cradle of nature”, produced by Primitive Entertainment and Spiegel TV in association with ZDF, ARTE, NHK, Discovery Canada and ZDF Enterprises.

Off the Fence has also sold five nature series to UKTV as part of the deal. In addition to Wild Edens, Off the Fence has sold to UKTV Costa Rica: The Rise of Nature from BambooDoc, Beasts in the City from Terra Mater Factual Studios, Animal Social Networks from Rotating Planet Productions and Seasons in the Wild from Terra Mater Factual Studios.

Ralf Rueckauer, VP of ZDFE.unscripted at ZDF Enterprises, said: “I’m delighted that our long-standing partnership with UKTV has resulted in pre-sales of two fantastic series that are still in production, Africa from Above and Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall. Both shows are produced by Off the Fence which is widely recognized for delivering top quality natural history documentaries.”

Stefanie Fischer, managing director of sales at Off the Fence, added: “It is great to see that a number of key titles from our catalog will be entertaining UKTV’s viewers in the year ahead. I am sure they will thoroughly enjoy the journey these series will take them on, as nature is always full of surprises.”

Global Acquisitions Manager Charlie Charalambous, who brokered the deal for UKTV, commented: “The environment and sustainability is an important and topical subject matter, and one that is close to many of our viewers’ hearts. This package deal will ensure we have a wide range of high-end factual programming to engage those viewers who want to connect with the world around them so I’m really pleased to have worked with ZDF Enterprises and Off the Fence to secure these brilliant shows.”