London, 26th March 2014
Yesterday, Britain's biggest factual channel and part of UKTV's multi-award winning network of ten channels, today announced a pre-sale deal with 3DD Productions for the brand new series Raiders of the Lost Art.
Throughout history some of the world's most amazing and renowned works of art have simply disappeared. This 6 x 60' series investigates how these treasures were looted, stolen or have completely vanished. Some have been recovered, but many more are still waiting to be found.
Adrian Wills, General Manager of Yesterday said
It is astonishing that the works of such well-known artists such as Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Picasso can just vanish. Raiders of the Lost Art, through dramatic re-enactment and rare archive material, seeks to explore the fascinating mysteries behind the disappearance of these priceless masterpieces.
One episode focuses on the Führermuseum, an unrealised museum complex planned by Adolf Hitler to display the collection of art plundered or stolen by the Nazis throughout Europe during World War II. It was not until 2012 that a giant haul of these artworks was discovered in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Hilter's art dealer.
Another episode explains the 1911 theft of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa from the Louvre, Paris. Pablo Picasso was one of the main suspects, until it was discovered two years later that an employee of the museum was behind this famous heist.
Adrian Wills ordered the 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 comments
Raiders of the Lost Art is a great addition to Yesterday's 2014 schedule, which already includes Inquisition and Ancient Black Ops. The Yesterday audience is intrigued and fascinated by historical mysteries and secrets, as the popularity of Jamie Theakston's Forbidden History and Museum Secrets has proved.
3DD Productions Dominic Saville, series Executive Producer, added
There are so many engaging stories to tell and we are happy that Yesterday have got on board the first series.
Yesterday is the home of fascinating factual stories. 2013's top rating series included Perfect Storms: Disasters that changed the World, which reached an audience of 2.1 million, the elite special-forces series Black Ops which reached 1.6 million individuals, and Forbidden History, presented by Jamie Theakston which reached 1.5 million viewers.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Emily Jones, Publicist, Factual
Notes to Editors
About Yesterday
(Freeview 19, Sky 537, Virgin 203) www.yesterdaytv.co.uk
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.
About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers per month.
UKTV's ten imaginative channel brands - Watch, Dave, Gold, Alibi, Eden, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home and Good Food - 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.