Factual

During its 48th annual Showcase event in London, BBC Studios today announced that it has secured a raft of sales for documentary series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution and Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World, demonstrating the appetite for the pop culture genre with international buyers.

Specialist Factual Productions has put the cultural legacies of Disco and Hip-Hop under the spotlight in two multi-part series. Both were co-produced with PBS, whilst Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World was also developed and executive produced by Hip-Hop legend Chuck D.

Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution has sold to, Belgium (VRT), Canada (CHCH-TV), Czech Republic (Czech TV), Denmark (DR), Finland (YLE), France (Arte), Germany (WDR/Arte), Netherlands (Zwart), Portugal (RTP), Spain (Movistar Plus+), Sweden (SVT) and BBC Player (India).

The Grierson award nominated Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World has sold to Australia (SBS), Belgium (VRT), Finland (YLE), France and Germany (Arte), Iceland (RUV), Netherlands (Zwart), Norway (NRK), Portugal (RTP), Spain (Movistar Plus+) and on the BBC Nordic channel. Out of Home sales include Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

Nick Percy, President, Global Markets, Global Media and Streaming, said “Music and its cultural legacy knows no borders and documentaries in the pop culture genre which educate and celebrate the foundations of iconic music genres and their stars are travelling well internationally.

The pop culture genre is having a real moment, in recent years we saw Freddie Mercury: The Final Act snapped up by customers around the world and win multiple awards including an International Emmy, and Fight the Power has followed in its footsteps receiving accolades and award nominations. We can already see that the care given by Specialist Factual Productions to bring the authentic story of disco to screens is being appreciated by audiences and customers alike and we’re really excited to present ABBA: Against the Odds to buyers at Showcase as the next defining show in this genre.”

Told by the original musicians, promoters and innovators, as well as modern day musical icons, Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (3 x 60’) is the definitive story of the people who forged a new form of music and dance that pioneered a social movement. It revels in iconic disco tracks and remarkable archive footage, analysing and exploring the anthemic songs and sound they established.

Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World (4 x 60’) rewinds to the birth of hip-hop and traces its role in the story of America from the past 40 years, right up to the present day. Featuring first-hand accounts from some of genres most integral players, the series will deconstruct the origins of this bold and revolutionary art form through the voices of those who were there at the start, creating an anthology of how it became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history.

New documentaries presented at BBC Studios’ Showcase event include ABBA: Against the Odds (1x90) from the award-winning team behind Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, Rogan productions, the film explores ABBA’s musical evolution and legacy, reliving key moments through rare interviews and archive footage, highlighting their public adoration and critical scrutiny, all culminating in their ground-breaking success.

The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth (3 x 60’), from Mindhouse productions for the BBC and CNN, charts the in-depth story of the Columbia space shuttle tragedy in 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry to Earth.

Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator (3 x 60’) from Specialist Factual Productions and co-produced by PBS is a landmark history series that tells the dramatic story of how nearly five centuries of ancient Roman democracy was overthrown in just 16 years. It’s the story of a brazen, ambitious power-grab that saw Julius Caesar consolidate the vast power of Rome in his own hands.

Also from Specialist Factual Productions and co-produced by CNN in association with Arte France, Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game (3x60’) is set in the early 1980s when the Cold War is reaching its dramatic climax, it tells the hidden story of the real-life spies and traitors embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse, risking everything to ensure their own side gains the upper hand in this cutthroat battle for world domination.

Other factual titles on the slate include Asia (7 x 60’), the latest landmark from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, which tells the story of the biggest continent on Earth through its landscapes and spectacular wildlife, and Solar System (w/t) (5 x 60’), from the BBC Studios Science Unit and co-produced by PBS which takes viewers on five epic journeys through our solar system to reveal the incredible events that are happening out there, right now, as revealed by our very latest space missions.