BBCS, Banijay reveal sales as buyers hit London

BBC Studios has signed a co-production deal with Greek broadcaster Skai TV for natural history programming, alongside a glut of pre-sales for blue-chip title Blue Planet III.

Free-to-air Skai TV has boarded the David Attenborough-fronted tentpole as a co-producer, with the series premiering on its BBC Earth block. This dedicated pillar will also showcase back catalogue titles including sibling landmarks Blue Planet II, Planet Earth II and Asia, and other global unscripted series such as Human, Big Cats 24/7 S1 and Walking with Dinosaurs. 

Zai Bennett, chief exec and chief creative officer at BBCS Global Content said: “As we celebrate 50 years of Showcase, there’s no better example of BBC Studios at its very best than Blue Planet III from our extraordinary Natural History Unit.  

“We’re privileged to have long-standing clients like Skai TV come on board to co-produce and go a step further to premiere it via a dedicated BBC Earth block. This new chapter will immerse global audiences deeper than ever before, revealing unseen behaviours and uncovering urgent new stories about our changing seas. It’s a landmark production in every sense - visually breathtaking and scientifically revelatory.”  

Ioannis A. Alafouzos, owner of Skai Media Group, added: “Our partnership with BBC Studios is built on trust, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to excellence. Today’s announcement is not just the beginning of a new collaboration, but the continuation and strengthening of a relationship that has already proven its value.  

“Together, we are deepening our creative ties and reaffirming our long-term commitment to developing ambitious co-productions that will resonate with audiences around the world.” 

BBCS announced six-part Blue Planet III has also been pre-bought by Nine Network in Australia, Brazil’s Globo, Blue Ant Media and Radio-Canada, Shanghai Media Group’s Dragon TV (China), DR in Denmark, TVNZ (New Zealand) and MovistarPlus+ (Spain). It will also be available on BBC Nordic, Sony BBC Earth in India and BBC Earth in Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, South Africa and Turkey. 

The deal was announced during BBCS’s annual Showcase event, which runs alongside the London TV Screenings (LTS) and the second iteration of Mip London. 

BritBox snaps up A Woman of Substance 

Elsewhere on day one of LTS, BBC Studios streamer BritBox has acquired forthcoming reboot of hit Barbara Taylor Bradford novel A Woman of Substance for North America.  

The Forge-produced Channel 4 drama, which is distributed by Banijay Rights, is a re-imagining of the novel starring Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Little Voice) and Jessica Reynolds (House of Guinness, Outlander) as the two versions of the iconic character Emma Harte – a housemaid turned-mogul, daughter, mother, lover, fighter and a 20th century feminist icon who refused to know her ‘place’.  

Matt Creasey, Banijay Rights’ executive vice-president of sales, acquisitions and co-productions negotiated the deal.   

He said: “BritBox is the perfect North American home for this bold new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s classic story which follows Emma Harte’s extraordinary rags-to-riches journey.  

“We’re in no doubt this premium drama will captivate global audiences in what has been an incredible sales effort from the Banijay Rights team.” 

The series has also been bought by Foxtel’s Binge in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, NPO in The Netherlands, Cellcom TV Plus in Israel, Cosmote TV in Greece, and RUV in Iceland.