Off the Fence forges natural history doc pact with UK’s John Downer and One Tribe

European factual content distributor Off the Fence (OTF) has agreed a natural history documentary pact with wildlife film company John Downer Productions (JDP) and factual prodco One Tribe TV.

Bo Stehmeier

Under the deal, the partners will go to market with a development slate of natural history projects, offering co-development and coproduction opportunities.

The first shows on the slate include Nature’s Odysseys (3×60’), Wild Offspring: Animal Families (3×60’), Nature’s Indestructibles (3×60’) and Wild Geniuses (3×60’).

The alliance provides access to Bristol, UK-based JDP’s library of wildlife footage and OTF’s library of content, with Bath-based One Tribe producing the docs.

Dale Templar, One Tribe’s MD and exec producer, said: “We are three companies with a remarkable heritage in the genre and a deep shared commitment to storytelling excellence.

“Using the JDP and OTF libraries, we have the clear ambition of building a long-running natural history strand that not only resonates with global audiences but provides a steady pipeline of high-quality, innovative shows that meet the needs of broadcasters, platforms and audiences alike and are uniquely positioned to react quickly to shifting commissioning demands.”

Bo Stehmeier, OTF’s CEO, added: “The timing of this collaboration is particularly significant. The natural history genre has clearly been navigating a challenging period, with slowdowns in commissioning which, of course, has led to a disruption in the supply of programming.

“This new tripartite constellation has been purposefully formed to help address that gap and support the resurgence of natural history content on a global scale and built, of course, to work for both the traditional linear outlets as well as FAST and digital networks.”