Discovery+ crafts deal with Magnify Media for UK’s Handmade: Good With Wood

Handmade: Good With Wood is fronted by Mel Giedroyc

US-based SVoD service Discovery+ has acquired the North American streaming rights to new UK crafting format Handmade: Good With Wood.

The format was originally commissioned by UK commercially funded pubcaster Channel 4, where it will debut tomorrow. The show is made by UK indie Plimsoll Productions.

The competition format, hosted by Mel Giedroyc, pits the country’s most talented woodworkers against each other as they create stunning builds in a custom-built outdoor workshop in Wales. Each episode features a series of smaller rounds leading up to the week’s Big Build. Nine competitors will eventually become one winner.

Discovery+ acquired the show from UK distributor Magnify Media, which Plimsoll Productions took over earlier this year. The finished-tape rights have also been taken in Australia and Canada ahead of the show’s premiere.

The show’s format, meanwhile, is distributed by Fremantle, which has sealed deals for local versions in more than 20 countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Hungary, Belgium and Australia earlier this year.

In June, Magnify Media CEO Andrea Jackson said Handmade: Good With Wood fitted in with the distributor’s intention to make shows with a natural surrounding to offer some escapism to viewers during the pandemic.

On the deal with Discovery+, Jackson said: “The pre-sale of Handmade: Good With Wood underscores both a significant appetite for premium unscripted content and an exciting trend to have streamers acquire UK factual series. Viewers across the world will be able to experience the excitement of this competition and become inspired by the vision of these extraordinary artisans.”