ITV STUDIOS' BLUE-CHIP NATURAL HISTORY SPECIALS PICKED UP IN MAJOR GLOBAL MARKETS

ITV Studios has unveiled a host of global sales for its stunning natural history one-off’s, "India’s Wild Karnataka" and "Wild Tokyo". BBC America has opted to pick up both documentaries for its dedicated bluechip natural history strand “Wonderstruck”, with the two titles also being acquired by Bilibili and Huanxi Media in China and TVNZ in New Zealand.

"India’s Wild Karnataka", narrated by Sir David Attenborough and produced by Icon Films and Mudskipper, has also sold across Europe, as well as into Korea, Taiwan and Australia.

The hour-long special, filmed in Ultra High Definition, took four years to produce from more than 400 hours of footage capturing the dazzling behaviours and extraordinary diversity of wildlife in the Indian state of Karnataka. With unprecedented access to use drones in some of India’s most famous national parks "India’s Wild Karnataka" captures rarely seen footage of otters chasing tigers and a full sequence on peacock lekking. It has been picked up by France 5, ServusTV in Germany, SVT in Sweden, VRT in Belgium, DR in Denmark and ETV in Estonia.

Bilibili and Huanxi Media have bought the show in China, while it has been acquired by KBS in Korea, Discovery in India, PTS in Taiwan, and by TVNZ in New Zealand. SBS broadcast the Australian premiere, with BBC Earth taking pay premiere later this year.

Narrated by the multi award-winning actor Toby Jones (The Hunger Games, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and produced by the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Oxford Scientific Films in partnership with Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, "Wild Tokyo" (1 x 60’) reveals that residents of the world’s busiest and most densely populated capital share their city with a surprising array of wildlife.

This blue-chip documentary shot in 4K by the world’s best natural history cinematographers has been sold to Bilbili and Huanxi Media in China, Discovery for Pan Asia, TVNZ in New Zealand, Seven in Australia, WDR in Germany, DR in Denmark and BBC Earth in Africa.

“Over the past couple of months, we have seen numerous feel-good stories about how the current global situation is bringing people around the world closer to nature, and these documentaries are certainly suited to audiences craving that touch. Both of these exquisite productions are prime examples of our invigorated commitment to wildlife programming and, alongside other shows on our growing slate of blue-chip content, such as the award-winning Magical Land of Oz which recently secured great ratings when it was rerun in the UK, we are now one of the major destinations for clients looking for stunning natural history programming,” said Ruth Berry, Managing Director, Global Distribution at ITV Studios.

In addition to its natural history portfolio, ITV Studios is also the home of some of the most sought after new British and European dramas such as "Vigil", "Little Birds and Romulus", as well as the long-running, award-winning returning series "Vera", "Endeavour" and "Cold Feet". To view its 46,000+ hours of programming please visit www.itvstudios.com.