German public broadcaster ZDF has extended its strategic partnership with BBC Studios, the production and distribution subsidiary of the BBC.
The 2019 agreement already significantly intensified the cooperation between the two broadcasters. In both the fictional and non-fictional areas, material has since been developed and projects realised in close cooperation.
“We look back on an extremely fruitful cooperation with the BBC. Since 2019, we have been working together on high-quality and extraordinary productions that enrich the ZDF programme line-up and inspire viewers. We look forward to continuing and expanding this cooperation in the future,” said ZDF Director of Programming, Dr Nadine Bilke.
Nick Percy, President Global Markets at BBC Studios, added: “The strategic partnership between BBC Studios and ZDF has achieved remarkable success in recent years. Award-winning titles such as Frozen Planet II and new scripted productions such as The Chelsea Detective were only possible thanks to this early support. The contract extension is not only a win for viewers in the UK and Germany, but also internationally, because partnerships like this, with shared editorial values, allow us to produce more ambitious and high-quality programmes.”
In the coming years, ZDF and BBC Studios plan to partner on further documentaries, including Mammals and Asia. In addition, the agreement now also provides thematic channel ZDFinfo with first access rights to licensed programmes and presales as well as joint co-productions.
In the fictional area, there will be a focus on co-productions, including for example crime series The Chelsea Detective. In addition, event formats are to be expanded. Under a licensing agreement, ZDF and thematic channel ZDFneo can offer BBC titles such as Make Me Famous, Death in Paradise, This is going to Hurt and Mood in the German-language TV market and on catch-up service ZDFmediathek.
