BBCWW makes digital sales in Israel, SA

New digital platforms Cellcom in Israel, Woongjin in Korea and VIDI in South Africa have picked up their first shows from BBC Worldwide (BBCWW).

South Korean publisher Woongjin has licensed a number of children’s programmes in the first tablet subscription VoD deal for UK kids’ pubcaster CBeebies in the region. Titles available to its 30,000 tablet subscribers include Charlie & Lola, Woolly & Tig and Sarah & Duck.

Meanwhile, Cellcom has taken a raft of premium drama titles from BBCWW including Sherlock, Orphan Black, Luther, A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories, Ripper Street and Call the Midwife, and premieres of comedy series Pramface and Moone Boy.

Times Media Films, on behalf of South Africa’s Vidi TV, has picked a package including Sherlock, Call The Midwife, Luther, Misfits and Torchwood, with some titles set to premiere in the country.

China’s OTT platform Tencent has acquired a package that includes dramas Sherlock, Atlantis, Orphan Black and The Zoo. Japan’s Hulu renewed its agreement with BBCWW for a further three years, licensing content including The Musketeers, Top Gear, Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Life.

Amazon in Germany has acquired a mix of drama, natural history, science and children’s content, with titles including Doctor Who, Luther, Planet Earth and Charlie & Lola.

BBCWW has also concluded a new agreement with Liberty Global’s UPC Cablecom SVoD service Horizon in Switzerland for a variety of drama, comedy and natural history documentaries, including Human Planet, History of the World, Africa and Louis Theroux. Meanwhile, in Central and Eastern Europe, Slovenian public broadcaster VOYA acquired a Top Gear SVoD package.

Paul Dempsey, president of global markets at BBCWW, said: “We’ve seen a significant increase in sales to digital clients all over the world, fuelled by new and established customers.

“The notable shift we are seeing towards video streaming and on-demand means viewers are increasingly able to access our content wherever and whenever they want it.”