Nat Geo launches new docs

National Geographic has commissioned two major series for its international channels, striking deals with UK indie Icon Films and New Zealand producer NHNZ.

It has commissioned Icon Films, which made recent BBC hit doc Tiger Kill, to produce Street Monkeys, a 5x1hour series looking at wild vervet monkeys in Durban, South Africa. The docusoap is a co-production with US factual broadcaster Smithsonian Networks and Granada International.

It has also commissioned fellow Fox-owned factual producer NHNZ to produce 3x1hour docs for its Megastructures strand, this time focusing on China. It will eschew some of China’s ancient architectural works such as the Great Wall in favour of the Shanghai World Financial Centre, Yangshan Port and Beijing Water Cube.

Meanwhile, National Geographic Television International (NGTI), the company’s programme distribution arm, has inked a major volume sale with Irish public broadcaster RTE. The channel has acquired 15 hours of wildlife programming including Quest for the Megafish of the Amazon, Eden At The End of The World (pictured), The Valley of the Wolves and Crocodiles Under the Skin.