BBC Worldwide is taking award-winning British drama to Germany, having concluded deals for hit titles with major German broadcasters ZDF, WDR and RTL2 at BBC Worldwide’s annual television market in Brighton, BBC Showcase.
“These deals give British drama a very wide platform within Germany and enable the genre to reach large audiences throughout the country,” said Isabelle Helle, Head of German Speaking Territories at BBC Worldwide. “They also demonstrate that British drama is able to compete with the best of US and domestic German drama for much sought-after slots on some of Germany’s biggest broadcasters. With our slate of in-house and independently produced content, we are sure that the demand for our drama will continue to grow in the future.”
BBC Worldwide has confirmed its biggest ever content deal with WDR, most of which is for drama. The package includes Ecosse Television’s contemporary drama Mistresses (6 x 50 minutes), BBC period drama Sense and Sensibility (3 x 50 minutes) and all episodes, plus three specials, of the iconic BBC adaptation of James Herriot’s novels All Creatures Great and Small. Within the deal the public service broadcaster also opted for some popular British comedy – series two of The Omid Djalili Show, as well as all episodes and eight Christmas specials of comedy series French and Saunders, which will go to their digital channel ARD Festival.
Public service broadcaster ZDF has also re-licensed all 6 seasons (36 hours in total) of murder detective series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, a deal which also includes the right to air the show on ZDF dokukanal, one of ZDF’s digital niche channels.
RTL 11 is also bringing British drama to Germany. In the wake of Torchwood’s phenomenal ratings success in the UK, the commercial broadcaster was keen to snap up both 13×50 minute series. Starring John Barrowman and created by Russell T. Davies, the hit contemporary drama follows the adventures of a team of investigators who use alien technology to solve both supernatural and human crime. The first series will launch on RTL 11 on March 11th this year.