Yvonne Body

TV Real Weekly, January 7, 2009

Head of Co-Productions & Acquisitions

Beyond Distribution

With its name derived from Beyond 2000, the long-running science-and-technology series for Australia’s Seven Network, it’s no wonder that producer and distributor Beyond International has created a firm niche for itself in the factual-programming arena. Indeed, at MIPCOM, Beyond Distribution’s lifestyle, science and observational documentary fare clinched deals with numerous networks. New properties like Rania: The YouTube Queen, Lonely Planet: Natural Born Traveller and Sex: The Revolution all proved to be a strong draw for international broadcasters. As did Mythbusters, the hit Discovery Channel series that has picked up slots worldwide, season after season.

"We have all types of factual [content]," says Yvonne Body, Beyond Distribution’s London-based head of co-productions and acquisitions. "Our catalogue is very commercial, very general, so we try and have something which appeals to all types of buyers."

Highlights of the current factual slate, Body notes, include the observational documentary Jetstream, the MTV reality series The Paper and the popular-science series Engineered.

Body has considerable experience in the area of factual content. A former translator for the banking and insurance industries, Body’s first TV job was as technical coordinator at CBC International Sales. "Rosi Krupa, whom we are all still mourning, encouraged me to move into sales." From CBC, Body moved on to a distribution position at Tapestry International in New York. After returning to London, Body decided she wanted to focus more on the acquisitions side of the business. At the same time, Beyond was looking for someone to help it expand its catalogue with titles from Europe and North America.

As part of her role at Beyond, Body’s mandate is to keep the company’s catalogue—spanning some 4,000 hours across documentary, drama and kids’ fare—stocked with good quality content that will appeal to a broad range of tastes. The company recently added some cooking shows to its slate to present at MIPTV, and she is keen to build up Beyond’s drama offering. When asked about her priority for 2009, Body states: "volume and quality."

The Beyond Distribution catalogue is made up of a mix of third-party acquisitions from independent producers, output from sister company Beyond Productions, and Beyond Productions co-productions such as the upcoming Crime Scene Detectives, based on the Dorling Kindersley book of the same name. The company rarely gets involved with a property at the development stage, Body notes. "We need to know that something has been commissioned and is going into production," she says. "We’re more likely to come in and put together the final pieces of the puzzle."

–By Mansha Daswani