Worldwide inks Universal Music output deal

BBC Worldwide has agreed a programming deal with music major Universal. One of the first projects it will distribute is the upcoming Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street, a one-off doc about the iconic rock band.

Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK public broadcaster the BBC, will distribute all TV content from Universal Music UK. It will also distribute content featuring some of Universal’s international artists. The programming will be available to buyers from later this month.

The deal comes as the distributor ramps up its music programming output. Yesterday it announced it had won the TV rights to the Glastonbury music festival and, over the past year, the BBCWW music catalogue had increased from 10 to over 100 hours.

Worldwide announced the deal at its Showcase event in Brighton, England, last night. The announcement was followed by performances from two Universal Music artists, Gabrielle Cilmi and Sugababes.

The Rolling Stones doc tells the story of the making of their classic 1969 album Exile on Main Street. The doc, which is directed by Stephen Kijak (Never Met Picasso), has archive footage and interviews with the band.

A message to the assembled buyers at Showcase from Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was relayed by video link.