ABC International signs flurry of regional deals, renews partnership with CBC

It’s Andrew! is produced by Pirate Size Productions, Mainframe Studios and Infinite Studios

ABC International has secured a raft of new and revised memorandums of understanding (MoU) with regional broadcasting partners, following on from a revised deal with Canadian pubcaster CBC/Radio-Canada, finalised in December.

The ABC’s renewal of its partnership with the Canadian national broadcaster coincides with the development of new children’s coproduction series, It’s Andrew!, from producers Pirate Size Productions, Mainframe Studios and Infinite Studios, slated to premiere in Australia in 2026. The series premiered on CBCTV in December and a French-language version, C’est Andrew!, will debut on ICI TOU.TV and ICI TÉLÉ in 2026.

The new three-year MoU, originally signed in 2019 and renewed in 2022, allows the partners to share expertise on the production, distribution and discoverability of news content; collaborate on podcasts; and co-develop and co-produce entertainment productions, including documentary, natural history, and children’s and youth programming.

Already this year, the ABC has signed MoUs with broadcasters and media organisations in Malaysia, Mongolia and Timor-Leste. In the latest round of agreements, ABC International formalised tailored agreements with Timor-Leste’s public service news agency Tatoli, Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) and Malaysian state broadcaster Sarawak Media Group (SMG).

The MoU partnership programme was instigated by ABC International in 2022 and has subsequently brokered 23 similar agreements with media organisations in Asia and the Pacific which centre on initiatives to share content, exchange expertise and knowledge, and undertake technical training and media development collaborations.

The MoUs with MNB and SMG will facilitate content sharing of news and current affairs, factual, sports and lifestyle programming, in addition to the exchange of technical advice and information. The Tatoli agreement also includes provisions for ongoing collaboration with ABC International’s media development arm, ABC International Development, which has worked closely with Tatoli in recent years in launching an English-language news service.

ABC International head Claire M Gorman said: “ABC International has worked tirelessly over the past four years to fortify our relationships with like-minded, regional partners and formalise tailored agreements with them. Each MoU establishes a framework for collaboration across areas such as content and information sharing, and media capacity building, and in doing so, brings new opportunities for meaningful engagement.”