| MUMBAI:
Thanks to a collaboration between Impossible Pictures Limited (IPL), BBC Worldwide
(BBCW) and ITV, sci-fi drama, Primeval, is guaranteed to return to UK and
international TV screens in 2011.
13
scripts are in development as a result of a commercial strategy developed by IPL
MD Jonathan Drake, and implemented through BBC Worldwide's international network.
The funding package also ensures that the special effects that have made Primeval
such a huge success with audiences around the world will continue in the new series.
Drake
says, "The dramatic changes in the business of broadcasting in the last 12
months have meant we have had to completely rethink how we put the funding together
for a top-end series like Primeval." Original
co-production partners ITV, ProSieben and BBC Worldwide return to co-fund the
new series, with BBC Worldwide becoming the largest funding partner. US cable
network, BBC America, takes on a full co-production credit for the first time
and multichannel broadcaster UKTV becomes a first-time investor.
BBC Worldwide director of independents Helen Jackson says, "There was a real
desire between all partners to make this project succeed and to bring Primeval
back from the brink of extinction. BBC Worldwide's increased investment in
the title is a reflection of our belief in the quality of the whole production
and its international appeal." In
an agreement which also includes acquiring the multichannel broadcast rights to
series 1, 2 and 3, UKTV is pre-investing in two brand new series of Primeval
for its new entertainment pay TV channel, Watch. Series 4 will premiere on ITV1
in early 2011, while series 5 will receive its UK premiere on Watch later that
year, ahead of ITV1. Watch
channel head Paul Moreton says, "This is the first time UKTV has co-funded
a British drama with another UK broadcaster and we are really excited to be part
of this truly innovative deal. I know Primeval is going to be a massive
hit with Watch viewers and the perfect complement to other popular sci-fi dramas
such as Doctor Who and Torchwood." Primeval
is one of BBC Worldwide's most successful drama exports and has been sold to over
45 countries, including Australia, America, Singapore and South Korea. In the
UK the show, which broadcast on ITV1, reached audiences of over 5.5 million every
week. | 
