BBC Worldwide notches sales as Showcase opens

BBC Worldwide has announced a raft of sales as its Showcase event gets underway in Liverpool, England.

The commercial arm of the UK pubcaster flagged 700 hours of drama sales.

Broadcasters in Western Europe accounted for 121 hours of the total with sales highlights including German pubcasterWDR buying a drama package including The Game, Happy Valley and Prey.

SVT has struck two separate recent deals for Worldwide-distributed drama, giving the Swedish pubcaster titles including Last Tango in Halifax, Cucumber, Banana and upcoming medical drama Critical.

In Eastern Europe, Polish pay TV platform NC+ has picked up Happy Valley, Ripper Street, The Honourable Woman (pictured), and The Game.

In Israel, telco Cellcom acquired 129 hours for its upcoming OTT TV service including Sherlock, Orphan Black and Luther.

Paul Dempsey, president global markets, BBC Worldwide said: “The quality, originality and range of British drama is helping us find new audiences around the world as more and more viewers discover the compelling stories our world class actors, directors and writers want to tell.”