Sales Talk: BBC Studios’ Louise McNab on emerging voices & bigger bets

Buyers, hungry for new content, are making their way to the UK capital for meetings, presentations and drinks – or logging on from across the globe – all this week, as London TV Screenings – and BBC Studios Showcase – get underway.

With so many new productions being showcased, TBI has been checking in with execs from international distributors of all sizes as they share the best new shows on their slates, along with the top trends to watch out for in 2022.

Chivalry

LOUISE MCNAB, DIRECTOR OF CONTENT SALES, BBC STUDIOS

What’s your standout show for BBC Studios Showcase 
and why?

We’ve got something for everyone
across all the genres at BBC Studios
Showcase, including: Happy Valley S3,
 Frozen Planet S2, Dynasties S2, Chivalry, Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America, Dino Pompeii, Bluey, and Spectacular Earth.

What show are you most looking forward to in 2022?

The Crown, season 5.

What single distribution trend will define the next 12 months?

There will be an even more diverse mixture of top performing content. We will see new voices, new ideas, new technologies, new services – all driving the creatives to take risks they may have never considered before to set new standards in must-watch content.

The Crown

Three words to describe the global distribution industry right now are…

Exciting. Energetic. Expensive.

Which country’s programming will boom this year & why?

UK, of course! British creativity is the best it has ever been. Titles in development and in train will mark a pivotal moment in the UK content market for years to come. Tht will be either in original form or reversioning of incredible British content, (see Ghosts, Luther, Doctor Foster).

Rewind to this time in 2018. You have the same knowledge as you do now – what would be the first thing you’d do?


I would take some even bigger bets. The demand for quality has exploded and the appetite for something different is stronger than ever before. Happily, looking at our pipeline, we are well positioned for the future.