Factual

At Mipcom 2024 BBC Studios and NPO, the Dutch public service broadcaster, announced that they have agreed a new significant output deal for natural history content in the Netherlands.

The multi-year agreement will grant NPO a first look on all BBC Studios natural history titles for the Netherlands, content will be scheduled across NPO’s linear channels NPO1, NPO2, NPO3, NPO1 Extra, NPO2 Extra, as well as its SVOD service NPO Plus and its FVOD service NPO Start.

Acquired titles include Mammals and Changing Planet: Coral Special. Full of new, never-before-seen behaviours, Mammals offers fascinating insights into the most successful animal group in the world; whereas Changing Planet: Coral Special examines the issues facing the planet’s most threatened ecosystems.

BBC Studios is world-renowned for its outstanding range of factual content and is the home of the Natural History Unit (NHU) which has produced global hits including Planet Earth III, Frozen Planet II and the upcoming Asia.

Chris Kinsman SVP, Factual, EMEA at BBC Studios said: “We have a fantastic long-standing partnership with NPO and it is testament to the strength of our diverse natural history slate that we have secured this new deal. BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit is the best in the world at producing the most extraordinary content; constantly innovating and consistently delivering never before seen content from the natural world that continues to capture the attention of both buyers and audiences worldwide.”

Jojanneke Doorn, Director Video at NPO said: “In these exceptional titles, nature and climate are portrayed in an entertaining and educational way according to the most recent scientific insights and with the latest camera techniques. These series amaze and inspire. The production quality, as we’ve come to expect from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, is so unique that we are particularly proud that we have been able to obtain this wonderful programming and show it to the Dutch audience. “Other titles from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit presented to buyers at MIPCOM include Big Cats 24/7 and Expedition Killer Whale.

In Big Cats 24/7 (6x60’), an elite camera team follow a group of African big cats, day and night, for six months. Filmed using the very latest technology, Big Cats 24/7 will give viewers an unprecedented insight into the lives of the lions, leopards and cheetahs of Botswana’s awe-inspiring Okavango Delta. Big Cats 24/7 is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit production for PBS and BBC.

Expedition Killer Whale sees a crack team of scientists and filmmakers journey to Antarctica to dive deeper than ever before into the world of the wave-washing killer whales, one of the most intelligent predators on Earth. Through their 360-degree filming perspective, they capture behaviour never seen before in these animals that extends far beyond the ruthless hunting behaviour they’re known for. A BBC Studios Natural History Unit production for BBC and PBS with the WNET Group.

Other unscripted titles include Renaissance: The Blood and The Beauty, Paddy and Chris Road Tripping and Amazing Hotels Life Beyond The Lobby Series 6.

Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty is a thrilling three-part drama documentary series exploring the turbulent lives – and breathtaking creations – of the three greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance: Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. It will examine how all three men were all shaped by the unique circumstances of the period and explore how they were pushed to ever greater heights of fame and artistic achievement by a combination of intense personal rivalry and their ensnarement in the bloody and brutal dynastic battles of some of the Renaissance’s most powerful patrons. A BBC Studios Specialist Factual production for BBC and PBS.

In Paddy and Chris Road Tripping, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris are to front a brand-new road trip series that sees the duo head to Europe, to look at how our European neighbours grow old gracefully and make their years ahead their best yet. The three-part series will see self-proclaimed “well and truly middle aged” Paddy and ‘’soon to be fifty’’ Chris go on a mission to explore the secrets to living a long and full life. The two friends will be meeting some of the healthiest, happiest, not to mention ‘well -preserved’ and long-lived people alive. Along the way, they will be getting under the skin of each country they visit as well as doing plenty of soul searching. Paddy and Chris: Road Tripping is a BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Production.

Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby Series 6 will see Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder put to work behind the scenes in another eight of the world’s most extraordinary hotels in locations such as Shanghai, Ibiza, Malaysia, Finland, Rome and Bhutan, where they will travel to and explore the most fascinating locations with a story to tell. Monica and Rob will join the teams of dedicated staff, learning first hand just what it takes to deliver once-in-a-lifetime experiences in these spectacular hotels. Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby is a BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Production.