Human Planet sells to Japan

Human Planet, the landmark BBC coproduction with Discovery Channel and France TV, has been sold to 22 channels, BBC Worldwide (BBCWW) has announced.

The eight-part show has been licensed into Japan (Wowow), Italy (Rai TV), Israel (IBA), Slovakia (RTV Slovak), Spain (Wanda Films), Thailand (Thai PBS), Australia (ABC), Belgium (VRT), China (CCTV), Denmark (Danmarks Radio), Finland (YLE), India (BBC India Entertainment), Latin America (Discovery Latin America), Netherlands (NPO), Norway (NRK), Singapore (SingTel) and Sweden (SVT).

BBCWW confirmed the first sales for the John Hurt-narrated show on the eve of its Showcase programme market in Brighton on Sunday. Human Planet is the first show from the BBC’s Natural History Unit to focus entirely on human beings, the distributor said.

Human Planet is one of a number of major documentaries on BBCWW’s slate for Showcase. Frozen Planet reunites narrator Sir David Attenborough with the team behind Blue Planet and Planet Earth, while Earthflight will use cutting-edge techniques to film aerial images of the world as seen by birds.

Other docs on offer include BBC productions The Bear Family & Me (3×50′); Nature’s Miracle Babies (5×50′); and The Truth About Lions (2×50′). Three-part copro with Animal Planet, Madagascar is also up for grabs.