The Stage

Outline strikes first-look deal with BBC Worldwide

Published Thursday 9 November 2006 at 13:10 by Liz Thomas

Outline Productions, the producer behind House of Tiny Tearaways, has signed a first-look distribution deal with BBC Worldwide, as the Corporation’s commercial arm begins to develop more strategic partnership with indies to build business overseas.

The two and a half year deal guarantees Worldwide first refusal on all of Outline’s finished programmes and the opportunity to co-produce international versions of formats.

Outline’s joint managing director Laura Mansfield said: “Outline has grown considerably over the last few years, and we believe that this deal will help us achieve the next phase of growth in the UK and abroad. While we have enjoyed great relationships with a range of distributors, we believe that much closer collaboration like this with regular slate meetings with BBC Worldwide’s Indie Unit and their international market expertise can only benefit the shows we’re currently developing, and inform the shows we’re yet to create. It’s a fitting partner for our programmes and we’re looking forward to bringing our shows to network in tandem with BBC Worldwide’s fantastic team.”

The deal comes at time when UK programming is at a premium in the global market, with an increasing number of productions and formats being sold to a wide range from countries including America and India.

Wayne Garvie, director of content and production at BBC Worldwide explained: “Outline’s productions have a great track record in the UK and the rest of the world. They are a dynamic outfit and are exactly the sort of production house that I’m keen for BBC Worldwide to team up with as part of our ongoing strategy.”