GLOBAL TV SALES - [Page 2]

 

AMERICAS

Sales in the Americas grew by 17.2% to £78.2m. In the US, co-production funding for drama and light entertainment more than doubled year on year including titles such as Extras and Five Days. Planet Earth became the highest rated natural history programme on cable in the US, reaching over 65m viewers during its March/April 2007 US run.

In Latin America, sales growth was driven by an expanding customer base and output arrangements with key operators. The US version of Dancing With The Stars performed particularly well, selling across the region.

In Canada, the business broke new ground by securing its first sale of simulcast rights, for Grease, You're the One That I Want, along with co-production deals with CBC for Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Despite increased sales, margins were impacted by a higher proportion of co-production deals that attract lower returns. Profits were also impacted by the effect of the US dollar weakening against sterling.

REST OF THE WORLD

Sales in the rest of the world grew 4.9% year on year with profit rising 26.9% to £8.5m. The strong pound continued to impact sales worldwide. Measured in their local currencies, sales grew by 20% in Asia's emerging markets and 36% in Japan.

The team secured its first ever Chinese co-production with Wild China - a partnership between China Television Media and the BBC's Natural History Unit. In Japan, Doctor Who was so successful it was moved to a primetime terrestrial slot and comedy such as Extras, Little Britain and The Office also performed well in the territory.

Drama was a powerful revenue driver in Australia, particularly with the sale of high-rating titles such as Primeval, Hotel Babylon, Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Waking the Dead to commercial networks. New dramas sold well within BBC Worldwide's first-option agreement with ABC TV, including Robin Hood, Bleak House, and Jane Eyre. The sale of Torchwood to the TEN network brought BBC content to a young audience that is new to British drama.

In India, BBC Worldwide's FM radio joint venture with Mid Day Multimedia Ltd saw the relaunch of the radio station in Mumbai, plus three new stations - all branded Radio One - launching in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. All of these stations are in local Indian languages, aimed at young, urban city audiences. Their core output is popular film music, with a small proportion of talk radio. In an innovative One BBC partnership, BBC World Service provides bulletins to Radio One in a unique FM-friendly version.

GOING DIGITAL

Global TV Sales has fully embraced the digital broadcasting revolution. With a number of its key clients preparing to move to 100% digital transmission, the business is actively digitising its content to ensure that it is able to meet future technical demands. By May 2007, it had 2000 hours of programming available for digital distribution and the business continues to acquire and fund high-definition output, with over 220 hours of HD content already in its catalogue.

OUTLOOK

Global TV Sales continues to refine its strategy to sustain growth in a sector that is undergoing unprecedented change. The approach of segmenting its markets and tailoring its sales approach accordingly will be key to achieving this growth.

	07	06
Europe	112.3	97.5
Americas	78.2	66.7
Rest of World	25.9	24.7
Total	216.4	188.9

	07	06
Europe	28.8	23.9
Americas	2.9	3.1
Rest of World	8.5	6.7
Total	40.2	33.7