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Nine looks to the UK for more content

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Nine has officially announced a batch of new UK shows today, many of which TV Tonight has previously told you about: Life in Cold Blood, Rock Rivals and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

But the additional programmes include Heroes and Villains, described as “a lavish, all-action drama series based on the real lives of six men who shaped the world around them, either by sheer force of will, genius, courage or greed.”

It has also picked up documentary series Extraordinary Animals, Hotel Babylon (series 3) and Waking the Dead (series 7). Primeval will also have a second series.

“We are very pleased to add this new crop of UK-made product to Nine’s expanding 2008 slate,” said Network Director of Programming, Michael Healy.

Nine had already announced Hotel Babylon series 2 for 2007, which presumably must be squeezed into the summer schedule?

Press Release:

Channel Nine announced today a swag of exciting new program acquisitions for the network in 2008.

The highlight is Life in Cold Blood, the BBC’s final David Attenborough series in his anthology Life on Earth. This outstanding wildlife documentary series tells the story of the oldest creatures on the planet.

Also new for Nine is Extraordinary Animals, an eye-opening and fascinating series that investigates incredible animals which are set apart from the rest because of their remarkable and unique abilities.

Heroes and Villains is a lavish, all-action drama series based on the real lives of six men who shaped the world around them, either by sheer force of will, genius, courage or greed.

And get ready for more monsters, more action and more thrills when Professor Nick Cutter and his team return to do battle with savage dinosaurs and other deadly foes from the past, present and future in Primeval Series 2.

Rounding out the BBC Worldwide selection are the hit dramas Hotel Babylon (series 3) and Waking the Dead (series 7).

Other new programs for the 2008 season include the controversial series from ITV in the UK , Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper (Doctor Who). Based on the popular diary of the anonymous sex worker known only as Belle de Jour, this sexually explicit story is about a beautiful prostitute who leads the ultimate double life.

And finally, the producers of Footballers’ Wives, with input from television supremo Simon Cowell, have created Rock Rivals, a drama based around an Australian Idol-style TV show and the marriage breakdown of a husband and wife who are judges on it. In a special twist, for the first time in a television drama the audience is able to vote for the ending they want to see.

“We are very pleased to add this new crop of UK-made product to Nine’s expanding 2008 slate,” said Network Director of Programming, Michael Healy. “These programs, along with our breakthrough new US series including Pushing Daisies and Cashmere Mafia, and our own exciting new local dramas Underbelly and Canal Road, mean that viewers will be spoilt for choice on Nine in 2008.”

3 Responses

  2. Nine’s purchase of British shows is a twofold answer to one problem: ratings.

    With only a slightly improved acquisition list from the US on the past year, Nine needs to beef up its war-chest. The answer is more Australian-made and British.

    They have also seen how well shows like New Tricks have performed, outrating some of their own content. It’s not a spoiling tactic, it’s a self-preservation one.

    As for merchandise, would have to see how the contracts shape up. Buying the show may not necessarily mean they acquire all merchandise too. ABC shops have also sold content from other networks. As Nine has no major merchandise outlet they might be happy for these arrangements to continue between ABC Books and BBC. It’s not really my area of expertise!

  3. Provided Ten airs season two of Torchwood, it means BBC-commissioned programs will be shown on all five Australian networks next year.
    I have been always wondering about Nine’s increasing interest in general interest programs from the BBC? (In the past Nine took footage of Ashes cricket when it was on the BBC, plus Wimbledon and British Open golf)
    David, do you think Nine’s purchase of Life in Cold Blood is either a spoiling tactic to prevent the ABC from completing its collection of David Attenborough documentaries, or a genuine interest in getting more people to watch the channel?
    Also, how will the program’s merchandise (companion book, DVD etc.) be marketed and sold in Australia? (For your benefits BBC books are generally distributed by Allen and Unwin and videos distributed by Roadshow Entertainment in Australia)

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