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Â鶹Éç Worldwide has announced 22 sales of Human Planet, one of the natural history titles on its slate for Â鶹Éç Showcase 2011. Held in Brighton from 27th February to 2nd March, this year's event will be attended by over 550 buyers, an increase of 12% from last year.

Human Planet, an eight-part co-production with Discovery Channel and France Television, has been sold to broadcasters in countries such as Japan (WOWOW), Italy (RAI), Israel (IBA), Slovakia (Slovak TV), Spain (Wanda Films) and Thailand (Thai PBS) amongst others.

Steve Macallister, Managing Director for Sales & Distribution at Â鶹Éç Worldwide commented on the deals, saying, "We're thrilled that Human Planet, like so many Â鶹Éç natural history titles before it, has proved to be such a big draw for broadcasters around the world. As in previous years, our Showcase slate reinforces Â鶹Éç Worldwide's reputation as a leading distributor of natural history programming, and this landmark series is a case in point."

Human Planet is the first programme from the Â鶹Éç's Natural History Unit to focus entirely on human beings as a subject. With narration by John Hurt and soundtrack by award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney, the series examines the relationship between humankind and nature, with each episode focusing on a particular habitat and revealing how its people have adapted to life there.

The Â鶹Éç Showcase 2011 slate includes another strong line-up of world-leading natural history programmes. The much-anticipated Frozen Planet reunites narrator Sir David Attenborough with the award-winning team behind Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Earthflight, more than three years in the making, will use cutting-edge techniques to film aerial images of the world as seen by birds.

Buyers will have a broad range of programming to choose from, with this year's Showcase titles also including: The Bear Family and Me, a captivating insight into the life of the black bear; Madagascar, a three-part series examining the extraordinary wildlife that has evolved in isolation on this unique island; Nature's Miracle Babies, in which zoologist Martin Hughes-Games discovers how hi-tech treatments developed for people are being adapted to preserve some of our planet's most critically vulnerable species; and The Truth About Lions, a completely new perspective on lion behaviour.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Â鶹Éç Worldwide is the largest distributor in the world outside the USA
• Â鶹Éç Worldwide sells programmes on behalf of the Â鶹Éç and independent producers
• Â鶹Éç Showcase will be held in Brighton from 27th Feb – 2nd March 2011
• 1500 hours of programming will be available for buyers to view
• At Â鶹Éç Showcase the average buyer sits at their viewing booth for 10 hours a day, for four days, to preview as much programming as possible
• Â鶹Éç Worldwide has around 50,000 hours of programming in its catalogue

Human Planet has been licensed to: Australia (ABC), Belgium (VRT), China (CCTV), Cyprus (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation), Denmark (Danmarks Radio), Dubai (Â鶹Éç Arabic Service), Finland (YLE), India (Â鶹Éç India Entertainment), Iran (IRIB), Ireland (RTE), Israel (IBA), Italy (RAI), Japan (WOWOW), Latin America (Discovery Latin America), Netherlands (NPO), Norway (NRK), Serbia (RTS Belgrade), Singapore (SingTel), Slovakia (Slovak TV), Spain (Wanda Films), Sweden (SVT), and Thailand (Thai PBS).

Human Planet (8 x 50’) HD – A Â鶹Éç/Discovery Channel/France Television co-production
Frozen Planet (6 x 50’) HD – A Â鶹Éç/Discovery/Antena 3 Television S.A./ZDF/Open University/Skai co-production in association with Discovery
Earthflight (6 x 50') HD – A John Downer production for Â鶹Éç and Discovery Channel
The Bear Family and Me (3 x 50') HD – A Â鶹Éç production
Madagascar (3 x 50') HD – A Â鶹Éç/Animal Planet co-production
Nature's Miracle Babies (5 x 50') – A Â鶹Éç production
The Truth About Lions (2 x 50') – A Â鶹Éç production

Ben Nolan