ASIA SALES UPDATE
Shows featuring Stephen Fry are popular in Asia as sales from Abacus Media Rights and Passion Distribution demonstrate.
Abacus has sold more than 70 hours of scripted and unscripted programming broadcasters across Asia, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market.
Now TV in Hong Kong has acquired factual series “Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis”; “‘Tis the Season: The Holidays On Screen”; “The Trouble with Kanye”; “Bankrupt Billionaire”; “The Man Who Stole the Scream”; “Backyard Beats,” “The Ghost of Richard Harris”; and Seasons 1-5 of hit scripted series “Line of Duty.”
South Korea’s KBS Media has picked up “Ningaloo Nyinggulu” from Artemis Productions.
In China, Bilibili, via Haining Jianguo TV and Film Media, has licensed “The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft,” directed by Werner Herzog. China’s Lean In Media has acquired factual titles “Yellowstone Supervolcano”; “Icemen: 200 Years in Antarctica”; “Quoll Farm”; “The Kingdom: How Fungi Made Our World” and “Billionaire Wonderland.”
Thailand’s TrueVisions has picked up “The Bizarre Pet Vets,” “Million Dollar Buffet” and “The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katie and Maurice Krafft.”
Meanwhile, Passion has sold “Dinosaur With Stephen Fry” to Warner Bros. Discovery for its Animal Planet network across Asia and Japanese public broadcaster NHK. “Big Ben Restored: The Grand Unveiling” has also been picked up by NHK.
Hong Kong’s HK Television Entertainment has licensed “The Royals: A History of Scandals,” “Elizabeth: A Life Through the Lens,” “Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland,” “The Cotswolds With Pam Ayres,” “How to Build a City” and “Tool Club.” Also in Hong Kong, TVB has acquired “Engineering Reborn” and all three seasons of “Lap of Luxury.”
AETN18 Media, India, has picked up Season 2 of “Secrets of the Superfactories.”
Elsewhere, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation has sold both seasons of the live-action Australian children’s series “Hardball,” produced by Northern Pictures for the ABC, to NHK. It will premiere on NHK linear channels and catch-up on NHK Plus in April 2024.