Nat Geo


Courteney Monroe re-ups at Nat Geo ahead of Disney/Fox merger

Courteney Monroe is to stay on as president of Nat Geo ahead of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox.  The exec – who had been tipped to join the combined Disney/Fox post-merger – has renewed her contract with the Fox-owned broadcaster. She will continue to report into Gary Knell, chairman of National Geographic Partners, and work […]

The Do’s and Don’ts of Filming in North Korea

Ahead of the Nat Geo premiere of North Korea From The Inside With Michael Palin on Sunday (September 30), FOMO Films’ Neil Ferguson, director and producer of the ITN Productions-made documentary, gives TBI his do’s and don’ts of taking a documentary crew and the Monty Python star into uncharted territory.  I’ve just spent the past nine months […]

Nat Geo goes to North Korea with Michael Palin

National Geographic has acquired ITN Productions’ one-off documentary North Korea From The Inside With Michael Palin (pictured).  The US cable channel has picked up the hit Channel 5 special featuring the Monty Python and Vanity Fair star, who travels 1,300 miles across North Korea to interact with locals. Palin’s North Korean sojourn also coincided with the […]

Limonero, Scorpion strike deals with Netflix, Nat Geo

UK distributor Limonero Films has struck a raft of deals for HIV documentary Lovesick, including BBC Arabic, German channel Planete and Netflix.  The streaming giant has picked up the film (1 x 74 minutes; 1 x 52 minutes), which tells the story of the trailblazing doctor who discovered HIV in India, for Southeast Asia and […]

Nat Geo picks up Plimsoll’s Wild Great Britain

Nat Geo has picked up Plimsoll Productions’ Hugh Bonneville-narrated Wild Great Britain for its international channels. The broadcaster has picked up global pay-TV rights – excluding the UK and US – to the 8 x 60-minute premium wildlife series from Andrea Jackson’s Magnify Media. The deal was brokered by Magnify exec Chris Bartlett and Nat […]

Nat Geo secures Royal Wedding specials from Spun Gold

National Geographic is the latest broadcaster to unveil its plans for the upcoming marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with two royal wedding specials premiering later in May. Leading up to the wedding, National Geographic will premiere Prince Harry’s Story: Four Royal Weddings, which charts Harry’s journey from childhood through the prism of key […]

TBI Factual: Year in Review

If scripted TV dominates the headlines at the moment, 2016 served up a few factual blockbusters. Genre-bending National Geographic series Mars married golden age scripted TV with documentary, Making a Murderer became watercooler (internet) TV and reinvigorated the true crime genre, and Leonardo DiCaprio brought some A-list movie star power to feature docs.   Planet […]

Nat Geo adds digital and marketing chiefs

The reorganisation of National Geographic is continuing with two new additions joining the TV and publishing giant. Rachel Webber will head up digital at Nat Geo in a newly created role, and Jill Cress will run marketing. Nat Geo has extensively rejigged its management since 21st Century Fox took over the factual giant. Webber will be […]

Nat Geo shakes up management as Fox takes over

21st Century Fox has completed its deal to take control of National Geographic and rejigged its senior management. Courteney Monroe (pictured) will become the international channels chief under the new structure and Fox International Channels exec Ward Platt will be in charge of channel distribution and commercial activity. Fox announced in September that it planned […]

Fox hires Bekker replacement for Africa

Fox International Channels has recruited Ratna Siriah (below left) as general manager of its operations in Africa, filling a role vacated by Hannelie Bekker. Siriah joins from Cat 2 where she worked in the launch a dubbed Bollywood channel in Africa. She has also worked for several FMCG companies outside of the TV sector. She […]