SINGAPORE – Blue Ant Media announced Tuesday at Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) a slew of multi-genre sales to Asia-Pacific broadcasters, totalling more than 550 hours of programming.
The deals include sales in Asia to Warner Bros. Discovery, Korean Broadcasting System, Mediacorp, PCCW Media and TrueVisions, as well as sales in Australia and New Zealand to SBS Australia, Foxtel Group, Nine Network Australia, Television New Zealand and Maori Television.
The announcement comes after Blue Ant Media recently established a new Asia-Pacific office in Sydney, Australia, led by Jon Penn, managing director for the Asia-Pacific region.
“As the appetite for premium factual content continues to rise in Asia-Pacific, our recent round of deals, with high-profile buyers, serves as a testament to the quality of programming in our catalogue, while also validating our recent decision to build out dedicated sales operations in Sydney and Singapore,” Penn said in a press release. “Heading into ATF, we want our partners to know that we are a trusted partner, skilled in various creative deal structures, such as traditional licensing, pre-sales and output deals while providing them with exceptional customer service.”
Warner Bros. Discovery has picked up the eight-episode food show Order Up!, starring Fresh Off the Boat star Hudson Yang, for Asian Food Network in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Produced by Beach House Pictures, the series follows Yang on a journey from Singapore to the U.S. as he embarks on a chef apprenticeship crash course. Warner Bros. Discovery has also acquired the 10-episode docuseries Bollywed, produced by HeartHat Entertainment, for the Discovery Asia channel in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In India, Warner Bros. Discovery has licensed more than 30 hours of natural history programming for Animal Planet, including Chasing the Rains (4 x 60’; Maramedia), Africa’s Wild Year (4 x 60’; Merx International), New Kids in the Wild (5 x 60’, Season 1; Off the Fence) and Big Cat Country (6 x 60’; Plimsoll Productions).
Korean Broadcasting System has picked up several natural history titles including the one-hour documentaries Woodpeckers: The Hole Story (Coneflower Studios), Great Elephant Tale (Merx International) and Baboons: Rules of the Troop (Merx International).
TrueVisions in Thailand has opted for factual entertainment and history series including Ice Vikings (8 x 60’; Farpoint Films), Deep Water Salvage (10 x 60’, Season 1; Renowned Films and Saloon Media), and Searching for Secrets (6 x 60’; Bigger Bang and Saloon Media).
PCCW Media in Hong Kong will air Seasons 3 and 4 of All-Round Champion (22 x 60’; marblemedia), the ultimate sporting showdown, featuring teen athletes, recently nominated for two Children’s and Family Emmy awards.
Mediacorp, Singapore’s largest content creator and national media network, has also picked up Hudson Yang’s Order Up! series, as well as Uptown Otters (6 x 60’; Beach House Pictures) and World’s Deadliest Weather (6 x 60’; Back2Back).
In Australia, SBS will air more than 60 hours of programming including Order Up!, three seasons of Flat Out Food (19 x 30’, Seasons 1-3; HalterMedia), and travel adventure series Scotland’s Scenic Railways (6 x 60’; Flint TV) and Britain’s Most Luxurious Train Journeys (4 x 60’; Candour Productions).
The Foxtel Group has picked up more than 75 hours of content including the one-hour documentary Born to Be King (Touchdown Films) about King Charles III, and World’s Deadliest Weather (13 x 60’; Back2Back).
Nine Network Australia has licensed Seasons 6 to 9 of See No Evil (80 x 60’; Arrow Media and Saloon Media), a series that reveals how the deadliest crimes are solved by the only witnesses — CCTV cameras.
Television New Zealand has picked up Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies (3 x 60’; Blue Ant Studios), Seasons 1 and 2 of Deep Water Salvage (18 x 60’; Renowned Films and Saloon Media), and three seasons of Gone Fishing (18 x 30’; Owl Power TV).
Whakaata Māori, New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster, has licensed more than 55 hours of programming, including Into the Blue: The Wonders of the Coral Triangle (8 x 60’; Zona Mixta), Merchants of the Wild (13 x 30’, Season 4; Buck Productions and Little Bear Big Wolf Pictures), Anyone’s Game (6 x 30’; BestCrosses Media and Game Seven Media), and Cracking the Code (8 x 60’, Season 1; Blink Films).
Photo of Order Up! with Hudson Yang provided by Blue Ant Media.
