BBC Worldwide announced today new third party acquisition deals that will see even more drama content becoming available on SVOD services BBC First and BBC Player in Asia for the first time. Award-winning and highly rated titles from all3media international and ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) will premiere on BBC First and BBC Player by the first quarter of 2018.
The titles from distributor, all3media international include:
• Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: A spy drama based on Agatha Christie’s novels, in which husband and wife team Tommy (David Walliams) and Tuppence Beresford (Jessica Raine) are amateur sleuths who foil plots in 1950s Cold War Britain.
• Hawking: A biographical film about Stephen Hawking’s early years as a PhD student at Cambridge University, following his search for the beginning of time, and his struggle against motor neuron disease. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Hawking. The series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama in 2005.
• Inspector George Gently (series five to eight): A crime drama, set in the 1960s, about an old-school detective (Martin Shaw) trying to come to terms with a time when the lines between the police and criminals have become blurred.
• Liar (series one): A psychological thriller in which a schoolteacher (Joanne Froggatt) and parent (Ioan Gruffudd) go on a date, and neither realises the consequences that their meeting will have on each other or their families. The series finale was a huge hit in the UK, drawing an audience of 6.5 million.
• Midsomer Murders (series 19 and 20): This long-running detective drama, set in the fictional but deadly county of Midsomer, stars Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby.
Titles from ITVS GE include:
• Poldark (series one to three): The series follows Captain Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) as he returns to Cornwall after the American War of Independence in the late 18th century. It won the BAFTA Radio Times Audience Award in 2016 and a Satellite Award for Best Ensemble 2017. It debuted on BBC First and BBC Player on 15 December 2017.
• Victoria (series one and two): Set in the mid-19th century, the series depicts the reign of Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman) after the death of her uncle King William IV. The show was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and won an RTS Yorkshire Programme Award in 2017. Series one and two premiered on 22 December 2017, and the 2017 Christmas special premieres on 26 December 2017 within 24 hours of its UK telecast.
All titles will have premiered by the first quarter of 2018.
Commenting on the deal, Ryan Shiotani, VP, Content in Asia, said: “We are very pleased to work with all3media international and ITVS GE for premium dramas. The partnerships with the two distributors allow us to grow the breadth of our offering, to deliver the best of British content to our viewers.”
The deals with all3media international and ITVS GE will bring the highly-rated and award-winning British shows to BBC First viewers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and BBC Player which is available to StarHub and TMNet subscribers in Singapore and Malaysia.
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For more information, please contact:
Jeanne Leong
BBC Worldwide
Tel: +65 6849 5292
Email: jeanne.leong@bbc.com
Jessie Lim
BBC Worldwide
Tel: +65 6849 5295
Email: jessie.lim@bbc.com