WildBear Entertainment has announced that it is has launched a new distribution division, WildBear International.
Timed to coincide with the MIPCOM/autumn sales period, WildBear International’s launch slate is led by three history series, Rise and Fall: The Turning Points of WW2 (6 x 60), The World War (8 x 60) and Bomber Terror of WW2 (6 x 60); two natural history titles, World’s Most Toxic Animals (2 x 60) and Under the Sea (4 x 60); plus three series of obs-doc show Demolition Down Under (18 x 60) and the second season of Mega Mechanics (10 x 60). All new series have been produced by WildBear Entertainment.
WildBear Entertainment CEO Michael Tear (pictured) will head the new business from Canberra, with a start-up sales team based in Europe comprising Edwina Thring and Margaret Yoshida of Wild Thring Media, WildBear’s long-term co-production and pre-sales finance partner.
In recent years, WildBear Entertainment has produced more than 150 hours of factual programming per annum and has reached out to several distribution businesses to place its content with international broadcasters and platforms. These include Passion Distribution, Off the Fence, ABC Commercial, ZDF Enterprises and PBS International. This situation will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future, with the company keen to continue maximising its IP by placing each title with the best-fit distribution partner, including its own, on a case-by-case basis.
Michael Tear, WildBear Entertainment’s CEO comments: “Financing production is an increasingly complex and timely business, often with many moving parts. By establishing WildBear International we are providing another route for both funding and finding international viewers for our content and see this development in a similar light to adding a new distribution partner to our roster. This is an exciting time for WildBear as it continues to grow its output, reputation, and international footprint, but our focus will always remain on having the best possible distribution partner for each title we produce.”