BBC Studios


BBC Studios buys ITV’s BritBox stake for $322m

BBC Studios (BBCS) is taking full ownership of streamer BritBox International, acquiring ITV’s 50% share for £255m ($322m). The deal comes seven years since ITV and BBCS launched the streamer, which claims 3.75 million subscribers and is available in eight countries. Following BritBox International’s move into BBCS’s Global Media & Streaming division, its global CEO […]

London TV Screenings deals round-up (PM)

Movistar Plus+, Canal+ find Murder Is Easy Movistar Plus+ in Spain and Canal+ in France are among buyers of Mammoth Screen drama Murder Is Easy. The Agatha Christie adaptation, sold by Fifth Season, has also been acquired by Network4 (Hungary), Canal+ Polska, TV2 (Denmark), TV2 (Norway), CANAL+ (France), Kanal 2 (Estonia), RUV (Iceland), TV4 (Sweden), […]

BBC Studios unveils scripted sales & ‘Mammals’ deals ahead of London TV Screenings

BBC Studios has kicked off its 48th annual Showcase event by revealing a raft of scripted sales, as well as pre-sales for its upcoming blue chip wildlife show, Mammals. ZDF in Germany, Italy’s Mediaset, Sky in New Zealand, BritBox across the Nordics, Star Crime in Portugal and Cosmo and Atreseries in Spain have all picked […]

Checking the industry’s pulse ahead of London TV Screenings

We are just days away from the start of London TV Screenings and BBC Studios Showcase, as the global TV community descends upon the UK capital to strike deals on the latest content hitting the market. This year’s event is taking place against the background of some serious upheaval in the TV world, as companies […]

Sweden’s SVT acquires 280-hour BBC Studios factual package

Swedish public broadcaster, Sveriges Television AB (SVT) has struck a deal with BBC Studios for the rights to more than 280 hours of factual programming to air across its platforms. BBC Studios’ factual content will be available on SVT channels and services including SVT1, SVT2, Knowledge Channel and SVT Play. The deal includes titles spanning […]

London TV Screenings Insights: Rebecca Glashow, CEO, BBC Global Media

Ahead of buyers landing in the UK for London TV Screenings and BBC Studios Showcase next week, TBI has talked to the bosses of more than 25 distribution companies to test the temperature of the global content industry and to find out how the next 12 months are shaping up. We kick off with Rebecca […]

BBC orders Sarah Everard true crime documentary

UK pubcaster the BBC has commissioned Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice, a one-off true crime documentary about the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer in 2021. Everard was abducted and murdered by Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, as she walked home in March 2021. Produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit […]

Anton, Fremantle & BBC Studios exec Sarah Doole dies aged 63

Anton and former Fremantle exec Sarah Doole has passed away, aged 63. The news was confirmed today by Anton, which had hired the experienced drama exec as creative director last year to oversee its push into production. Doole was among the execs that kickstarted Fremantle’s scripted expansion a decade ago, leading to hits such as […]

BBC Studios hires ViacomCBS alum Bartosz Witak to lead CEE operations

BBC Studios has hired former Paramount/ViacomCBS exec Bartosz Witak as General Manager for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. Witak will manage P&L across the region for the UK broadcaster’s commercial arm, while expanding BBCS’s branded services, content sales and digital efforts across CEE. His remit also includes developing strategic partnerships, in a move […]

BBC Studios Productions CEO Ralph Lee to step down after six years

BBC Studios Productions’ CEO, Ralph Lee, is leaving the BBC’s commercial arm in April after almost six years with the business. Lee became director of content in 2018 and took up his current role in 2022, when the company overhauled its operations by creating a single division for its scripted, factual, global entertainment and kids […]