Series Distributed Internationally by TCB Media Rights
London – Friday 12th August 2016 – Woodcut Media has been commissioned by A+E Networks UK to produce a new documentary series Combat Ships. The 10×1 hour series is scheduled to premiere on the A+E Networks UK® channel H2® in early 2017.
Shot on location across Scandinavia, Europe, America and the UK, Combat Ships follows the success of previous series Combat Trains which aired on H2 in November 2015. Combat Trains boosted male audiences aged 16-34 attracting twice the channel average*
Split thematically and featuring several ships per episode, Combat Ships provides a new perspective on the military, political and domestic issues of the time, whilst revealing human stories and engineering marvels. The series uses a combination of interviews, reconstruction, engineering graphics, and archive footage to delve into a wealth of maritime history.
Topics featured in the series include how Ironclads, the first armoured warships, were used during the American Civil War; how the first Dreadnought brought about wholesale change in battleship design and how The Bismarck, one of history’s most dreaded sea weapons, which was deemed to be unsinkable, met its end.
Woodcut Media’s Chief Executive Officer and executive producer for the series, Kate Beal, says: “With Combat Trains resonating so well with fans last year, we felt that exploring the history and unique stories behind maritime vessels would be the next logical step. A+E Networks UK channel, H2, is the perfect platform for Combat Ships and we believe the series will appeal to a broad demographic, revealing some real gems.”
Combat Ships was commissioned by Rachel Job Director of Programming for HISTORY and H2 at A+E Networks UK. The series will be distributed internationally by TCB Media Rights.
Rachel Job, Director of Programming for H2 at A+E Networks UK says: “We are very excited to be working with Woodcut Media once again. This compelling series is perfect for the H2 audience’s desire for entertaining factual content that feeds their obsessions and dives deeper into history.”
Paul Heaney, Founder and Managing Director of TCB Media Rights, says, “This is the sort of project distributors love….only because we assume the buyers will. Strong subjects, high volume from an indie that can deliver. Combat Trains delivered great ratings internationally and I see Combat Ships being plain sailing again!”
ENDS
About Woodcut Media:
With offices in London and Hampshire, Woodcut Media, a member of the family of Bob & Co businesses, is one of the fastest growing indies in the UK producing a broad range of factual programming. In addition to being one of the leading true crime producers in the UK (Holloway: Women Behind Bars, The Krays: The Prison Years and Murder Casebook), Woodcut Media’s rapidly growing catalogue also includes specialist factual series (Defenders of the Sky and Combat Trains),premium one off docs (The Ivy, Cut From A Different Cloth and Mandela, My Dad and Me featuring Idris Elba) and factual entertainment shows (Around the World in 80 Tricks and Animal Antics). Woodcut Media’s operations are spearheaded by leading doc producer Kate Beal, alongside former BBC exec Derren Lawford as Creative Director and former Lion TV founder Jeremy Mills as Chairman.
About A+E Networks UK:
A+E Networks® UK is a joint venture between A+E Networks® and Sky. Its portfolio of high-quality, ground-breaking factual and entertainment channels includes HISTORY®, Lifetime®, Crime + Investigation® and H2®. A+E Networks® UK launched in November 1995 and now operates 18 channels, with 121 million subscriptions, broadcasting into 45 million homes across 90 countries in the UK, Scandinavia, Benelux, Central & Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
(* all figures based on premiere episodes from July 2015 – June 2016)
