Distribution in Focus: TVF's Poppy McAlister

As buyers descend on the UK capital for Showcase, London TV Screenings and Mip London this week, Broadcast International speaks to Poppy McAlister, managing director at TVF International, about the key trends and challenges facing the business.

Our biggest challenge, like so many in our industry based in the UK, has been navigating the contraction of the domestic market here.

In the wake of soaring production costs and slashed commissioning budgets, we’ve seen a lot of high-profile indies in the UK closing their doors over the last year, and production output decreasing. Naturally, this has impacted our acquisition pipeline from UK producers, as there were simply fewer hours being commissioned and produced locally - and there’s much more competition for those that are.

Fortunately for TVF, the resilience of our business model lies in our global footprint. While the UK market has struggled, we have been able to pivot by ramping up our international acquisitions. We have maintained a robust offering for our broadcaster partners by securing a strong, diverse pipeline of premium factual content from the rest of the world, especially across Asia Australia and Europe, ensuring we continue to deliver top-tier factual programming to our broadcasters.

1. Co-productions and international reversions: In this climate of contracted commissioning budgets, we can’t rely solely on finished tape acquisitions. We are increasingly getting involved in projects early, through pre-sales and co-productions, to help get programmes financed. We are already seeing the success of this strategy with programmes like our major collaboration with bili bili on new wildlife series narrated by Sir Stephen Fry, China’s Wild Secrets (5 x 45) and our co-production with Tokyovision on Japan’s Wild Side (2 x 52).

2. Deepening regional specialisation: We have formalised the international outlook that has always been a part of our brand, restructuring our sales team of ten to report to four Regional Managers. This new approach will strengthen our global market coverage, and empower executives to take full ownership of their territories. More than ever before, in 2026 we will offer a highly specialised distribution service, that understands the unique cultural and commercial needs of buyers in every corner of the globe.

3. Expanding digital and AVOD revenue streams: As the traditional media landscape continues to shift, maximising the lifecycle of our catalogue through digital exploitation is critical. We are prioritising growth in the AVOD and FAST space, and the strategic use of platforms like YouTube. This ensures that our extensive library of factual programming continues to generate significant revenue beyond their initial broadcast windows.

We would invest in a blue-chip natural history series or premium, high-profile history series, linked to an upcoming global anniversary. Natural history has a long shelf-life and travels effortlessly across cultural and language barriers, and historical anniversaries offer a golden opportunity for “event television.” The beauty of anniversaries too… they come around every year!

We’re launching over 150 new hours at the London TV Screenings, so it’s hard to pick one key title! Some exciting new investigative programmes we’re launching this year are Trump and the Tech Giants (1 x 60), investigating the convergence of business, technology and politics under President Trump, and Trade Secret (1 x 100 / 2 x 50) from Executive Producer Adam McKay (Succession, Don’t Look Up) which exposes the dark, hidden trade of polar bears.

In history, we’re excited about a new programme from CNA called Inside Unit 731: Japan’s Secret Human Experiments (2 x 48), which reveals details of Japan’s secret WWII biological warfare unit for the first time. We’re also bringing some returning franchises to the London Screenings, including Series 13 of the BBC’s Digging for Britain (6 x 60) with Alice Roberts, and series three of Australian Crime Stories: The Investigators (8 x 52).