Nat Geo seeks intl’ perspective

Hamish Mykura, head of National Geographic’s international commissioning hub, has said he is wary of producing programming that is too UK-centric and therefore limiting its international appeal.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Mykura said the UK factual series Mud Men had “quite a British frame of reference,” and that his priority is to produce programming that can “work effortlessly across borders.”

Mud Men airs on rival A+E Networks’ History UK channel and is filmed primarily in London, on the River Thames. Fronted by UK broadcaster Johnny Vaughan, the show has run for three seasons.

Mykura added that Vinnie Jones, the British presenter of the upcoming Nat Geo series Vinnie Jone’s Toughest Russia (6×60′) had “substantial international profile as both a former footballer and Hollywood actor.”

“Programmes about Russia tend to do very well for us. For an international audience, it’s seen as one of the last wildernesses, one of those places perceived as being tough, dangerous and untamed,” Mykura added.

However, Rachel Job, head of acquisitions and commissioning at History & Military History, A+E Networks UK, who was also on the panel, countered by saying that Mud Men had been “widely” sold by its distributor DRG internationally, but conceded that filming certain episodes abroad, including in Poland, had helped the programme travel.

International broadcasters that have picked the series include Planete Cable in Belgium, Sanoma TV in Finland and Fox International in Italy.

Mykura went on to say he was hoping to air more drama documentaries and one-off specials on Nat Geo Channels International to tie in with the big-budget factual dramas coming over from Nat Geo in the US, such as Killing Kennedy.

He also reaffirmed that the broadcaster is considering using its London hub to commission producers around the world to make factual drama series.

Mykura added that the channel will always be factual-based with some drama “in the mix,” and that it would continue to focus on entertainment and people and places, rather than animals.