Top Selling UK TV Programmes

Well that’s actually a misleading headline.
The BBC is carrying a report about television programme exports. Based on a survey carried out by Pact – the organisation that operates in support of independent television producers.
The report goes on to list Gillette World Sports as the biggest selling TV programme in terms of countries (or do they mean “markets” – they’re different), going to 220 different countries (Sidebar: Are there 220 different countries? Only if you include territories. See this article for a good precis of the situation).
But of course, you don’t really think Gillette World Sports is actually “sold” to all these different countries do you? Surely it’s a very successful example of advertiser-funded programming. That means Gillette pays for the production of the programme in return for having its name splashed across the TV screens of 220 countries (or territories, or markets).
Next up is Midsomer Murders (204) followed by Pop Idol (“200+” Huh?) and Miss World 2004 (169 – this counts as British does it? Did it even get shown here?).
Anyway this is all very well, until you go to the Pact website to delve into the report a little more fully. A disclaimer at the bottom of the list says “This is not a definitive list, but does give a flavour of popular programmes overseas and shows the diverse range of UK programmes sold overseas.” And that’s not surprising since of the 25 programmes or formats listed, precisely none are made by the BBC.


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