German net joins BBC’s Hunt

Germany’s NDR Naturfilm has become a coproduction partner on the BBC’s new Alastair Fothergill natural history documentary series, The Hunt.

The BBC programme, which is launching at the BBC Worldwide Showcase event in Liverpool this week, is now a copro between Silverback Films Production, NDR, BBC commercial arm BBCWW and US cable net BBC America. In Germany, it will air on pubcaster ARD.

Prolific doc maker Fothergill recently told TBI the The 7x50mins (and 1x50mins ‘Making of’) series uses filming techniques associated with drama action sequences to tell the stories of predators and prey in nature.

“The Hunt will have broad appeal with audiences in Germany and far beyond, and highlights the growing opportunities to make high quality, exhilarating natural history content available across the world,” said NDR Naturfilm’s managing director, Jörn Röver.

The BBC and NDR are also currently coproducing the 3x50mins Atlantis.

Isabelle Helle, BBCWW’s director of German-speaking Europe, said coproducing The Hunt “demonstrates the shared commitment we have in producing ambitious natural history content. NDR’s involvement will bring this landmark series to a worldwide audience”.

In further BBCWW news, the distributor has presold preschool series Nelly & Nora to Norway’s NRK, Sweden’s SVT, Iceland’s RUV, and Česká Televize in the Czech Republic.

Another new CBeebies series, Hey Duggee, which launched in the UK in December, has sold to France Télévisions, YLE in Finland, RTÉ in Ireland, NRK, SVT and RUV.

Both series will launch on CBeebies channels internationally in Australia, South Africa, Poland, pan-Asia and Latin America.