NATPE Hot Pick: Africa

Africa is a high-end factual coproduction between the BBC, Discovery and France Television.

Over the 5x50mins episodes, it travels the length and breadth of one of the world’s most dangerous, yet beautiful continents, unveiling a world of wildlife and untamed wilderness.

Ahead of NATPE, BBC Worldwide Americas executive VP sales and coproductions Matt Forde has high hopes for the series in Latin America.

He says: “Its success on BBC1 in the UK shows the enduring appeal of natural history. For me, it’s an example of the kind of premium quality content that channels are increasingly looking for. Based on our initial conversations, I think Africa could become one of our biggest ever earners in the LatAm region.”

Typically, BBCW shops its shows to pan-regional Lat-Am channels first then looks to do deals at a national level.

“The good thing about the region is that companies are flexible when it comes to windowing, so with careful management I think we can maximise the number of deals we are able to do,” Forde says.

Forde’s big two titles at NATPE are Africa and Ripper Street, both of which have already aired in the UK. “That’s a pretty typcial scenario,” Forde explains. “While we have strong copro and presale relationships in some parts of the world, our Latin partners usually look for additional reassurance. That’s understandable when you consider that the sale of European programming into the region is still a relatively new area.”

The show: Africa

The producer: BBC Natural History Unit

The distributor: BBC Worldwide

The broadcaster: BBC/Discovery/France TV

Concept: An exploration of Africa’s spectacular wildlife and untamed wilderness from UK public broadcaster the BBC’s NHU