With China in the spotlight at Mipcom as country of honor, CCTV has stepped up and acquired a package of blue-chip factual fare from international distributor Blue Ant International. The Chinese state broadcaster has taken 60 hours of high-end nature and wildlife programming from Blue Ant for its CCTV-1 and CCTV-10 channels.
Some categories of program can be a tough sell into China, which is in the throes of introducing new rules on foreign content, but there is a consistent local appetite for quality natural history and wildlife shows.
CCTV’s flagship CCTV-1 channel has snagged several shows that Blue Ant produced under the Love Nature brand and with Grant Mansfield’s Plimsoll Production, including three-parters “Monkey Island” and “Valley of Flood and Fire.” It has also acquired Off the Fence-produced “Africa’s Wild Horizons,” and Madagascar series “Land of Gremlins.”
The science and education focused CCTV-10 channel has also acquired series from the Love Nature and Plimsoll selection, including “The Big Dry,” “Tales from Zambia,” and “Wild Survivors.” Other CCTV-10 pickups include Wildbear-produced “Deadly Australians,” about the country’s deadliest animals, and Blue Ant’s in-house produced “Animal Senses,” “Mysteries of Evolution,” and “The Big Feed.”
“China is an important market for us and buyers across all platforms are looking for the highest quality programming,” said Solange Attwood, EVP, Blue Ant International.