Channel 5 looks for the World’s Busiest…

British broadcaster Channel 5 has commissioned factual series World’s Busiest… after striking a deal with Arrow Media and Group M. This comes as it staffs up with a number of new hires.

Arrow Media, which was founded last year by John Smithson, Tom Brisley and Iain Pelling, is producing the four part coproduction, which documents the busiest places on earth including World’s Busiest Border Crossing, World’s Busiest Airport, World’s Busiest Train Station and World’s Busiest Hotel.

TCB Media Rights, the new company founded by former Cineflix exec Paul Heaney, is distributing the series and is shopping to international buyers at MIPCOM.

The deal means that Arrow Media will have produced 42 hours of UK and international programming in its first year.

The company has hired former Nutopia exec Nick Metcalfe and Thomas Viner and Lucy Van Beek.

Tom Brisley, creative director, Arrow Media, says: “We’ve had a fantastic first year at Arrow and we’re pleased to mark it by securing this commission with Channel 5. We are thriving on finding new ways of telling great stories and have already had great success with new methods of dramatising real events, as well as breathing new life into observational documentaries. With a dynamic and respected senior team in place with the appointment of Nick, Lucy and Tom we’re sure that the vast wealth of combined experience they bring in factual programming will be a valuable asset to the company as we head into our second year.”