Critically–acclaimed and produced by Tom Hanks, The Sixties is coming to Yesterday

The Sixties

14 August 2014

Yesterday, part of UKTV?s multi-award winning network of ten channels and Britain?s biggest factual channel, today announced an acquisition deal with FremantleMedia International for critically-acclaimed series, The Sixties.

Executive produced for CNN by multiple EMMY® Award-wining producers Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman (HBO?s John Adams and The Pacific) and Mark Herzog (History?s Gettysburg), The Sixties explores the most transformative decade of the 20st Century.

Adrian Wills, General Manager of Yesterday said,

The Sixties is a production of broad scope and tremendous ambition, with amazing rarely or unseen footage which is brilliantly put together. This series is a perfect fit for Yesterday?s proposition; fascinating factual stories.

This 10 x 60? series examines how and why this landmark decade became a period of such monumental social and political change, and still remains an epoch of such fascination. From the golden age of television to the rise of the Berlin Wall, the popularity of the Beatles, the dramatic increase in youth oriented culture and society, the tension of the Cold War, and the revolutionary space race; all these key moments are revealed and explored through rarely seen footage, personal films, eyewitness accounts and historians.

Adrian Wills ordered the new series and the deal was negotiated by UKTV?s Acquisitions and Co-Production Manager Emma Sparks. The series is planned for Q3 2014.

Emma Sparks commented,

We?re delighted to have completed this deal with FremantleMedia International for this provocative and compelling series. The Sixties will appeal to any viewer who is fascinated by the decade and those turbulent years, which altered virtually every aspect of modern life for future generations.

Jamie Lynn, Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution, EMEA, FremantleMedia International added,

The Sixties taps into our deep seated fascination with this decade and the disproportionate impact that it had on our politics and culture. It epitomises the quality of FremantleMedia International?s factual catalogue and is a perfect show for the Yesterday?s discerning audiences. We have a long standing relationship with UKTV and are thrilled to have them on board as partners.

CNN?s The Sixties has earned strong critical acclaim in the U.S. The special broadcast of The Assassination of President Kennedy was recently nominated for two Primetime EMMY® Awards, considered the highest honor for television programming in America, in the categories of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming.

Yesterday is the home of fascinating factual stories, with the channel currently reaching 12.88 million viewers a month. Other highlights in the 2014 schedule include Raiders of the Lost Art, WW11 Air Crash Investigators, Ancient Black Ops and a second series of Forbidden History with Jamie Theakston.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Emily Jones, Publicist, Factual

Notes to Editors

About Yesterday (Freeview 19, Sky 537, Virgin 203)

Showcasing UK premiere series such as Raiders of the Lost Past, Forbidden History, and Museum Secrets. Yesterday is the home of fascinating factual stories. The channel features dynamic history and science-inspired series such as Perfect Storms: Disasters that Changed the World, and programmes which challenge expectations including CIA Declassified. Ancient history is also featured in series including Ancient Black Ops and Medieval Dead, plus modern conflict in shows such as Black Ops.

yesterdaytv.co.uk

About UKTV

UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers per month.

UKTV's eleven imaginative brands - Watch, Dave, Gold, Alibi, Eden, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Good Food and UKTV Play - include the most watched non-PSB channel, the most watched channel in the Factual genre and the most watched channels in the Lifestyle genre (Pay and Free). The company?s most recent financial results showed a record-breaking year-end revenue of £262m, and operating profit at £71m.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC and Channel 4 content, and embracing technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV, TalkTalk, YouView, plus direct On Demand digital services. The network distributes its highly valued programmes to 200 territories around the world and supplies Sky with more hours of HD content than anyone else.

Now celebrating its 21st year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / pressoffice.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

About FremantleMedia International

FremantleMedia International (FMI) is the global distribution division of FremantleMedia, one of the leading creators, producers and distributors of television entertainment brands in the world.

The division is responsible for global sales across Linear Television, Digital and Home Entertainment platforms of finished content, format sales in non-production territories as well as acquiring and developing new programmes for the international market. In addition to the world-class FremantleMedia production families around the globe, FMI works with the highest calibre creative talent, producers, channels, licensees and studios to create, finance and distribute the best content in the business.

FMI?s catalogue contains more than 20,000 hours of content; a diverse and exciting range of programming spanning drama, comedy, factual, lifestyle and entertainment. Managed by a powerful distribution network spanning nine international offices and supported by a best-in-class brand management team, FMI?s content has sold to more than 150 countries around the world. For more information please visit www.fremantlemedia.com.