News round-up: Autentic orders from Canada’s Go Button; Raiders Of The Lost Past return to BBC;  Blend Media launches ‘extended reality’ market

The Animal Within

Autentic welcomes Go Button’s ‘Animal Within’

German factual channel and content business Autentic has commissioned a 4K show exploring the wonders of the animal world.

The Animal Within (6 x 60-minutes) is from Canada’s Go Button Media and explores how centuries of evolution have created incredible over-achievers in the animal world. It will premiere on Spiegel TV Wissen in December and will be distributed internationally outside of Canada by Autentic Distribution.

The show’s six episodes use natural history footage, CGI and the latest science to answer questions such as what biological ‘tech’ enabled some species to survive massive extinction events.

Daniel Oron, director and executive producer on the series, said: “The Animal Within travels the world to bring new insights to unexpected species that nature has been busy perfecting over the ages – from hippo chemists who manufacture their own sunscreen to ant architects who create complex structures.

“As humans, we think we have all the answers, but we will electrifyingly demonstrate that nature so often has the upper hand and can serve as the most experienced of teachers.”

Raiders Of The Lost Past

BBC Four returns to Raiders Of The Lost Past

BBC Four in the UK has ordered a second season of cultural travelogue Raiders Of The Lost Past with Dr Janina Ramirez.

The show is from Northern Irish indie Alleycats TV and follows Oxford University’s Dr Ramirez head off around the globe in the footsteps of the world’s greatest explorer-archaeologists.

The second run visits the Greek island of Crete to discover the truth behind the myth of the minotaur; the vast Konya Plain of Turkey to uncover the world’s oldest city; and through the southern fjords of Norway to find the stunning Oseberg Viking Ship.

The show is executive produced for Alleycats TV by Emma Parkins and MD Ed Stobart.  Producer/directors are David Starkey and Steve O’Hagen, supported by Denis Minihan.

The series will continue to be distributed internationally as Lost Worlds And Hidden Treasures by Entertainment One.  The first 3 x 60-minute series was licensed into more than 60 territories worldwide including most recently to Discovery for the US broadcast and SVOD rights.

Damian Collier

Blend Media launches extended reality content market

UK-based content provider Blend Media has launched a new platform to connect brands and businesses with creators of ‘extended reality’ content.

Blend Market has been labelled as the first immersive marketplace designed to link brands with creators working across the augmented reality, virtual reality, 3D and mixed reality spectrum.

The launch follows a beta phase during which more than 700 brands and immersive technology creators signed up to the service, including global media platforms and publishers.

Blend Media founder & CEO Damian Collier, who launched the comapny’s VR content licensing business in 2016, said the new market service would help companies forge relationships between businesses on a global scale.

“Immersive technology, or extended reality as it has become known, is an exciting, high-growth industry, with an explosion in hundreds of thousands of skilled creators. However, it is also a sector that is highly fragmented and, as such, requires an effective means of connecting,” he said.