Sky Studios invests in True to Nature producers

Sky Studios acquires stake in UK based natural history producer True to Nature.

“The content coming out of True to Nature has blown us away. Viewers have never been more interested in the natural world than they are today and all of us at Sky Studios can’t wait to work with Wendy and the team to see what we can create together.” – Gary Davey, CEO, Sky Studios

Sky Studios today announced its acquisition of a 24.9% stake in True to Nature, one of the UK’s fastest growing producers of high-end natural history programmes.

The Bristol-based company was founded in 2016 by former Head of the BBC Natural History Unit, Dr Wendy Darke. Despite only being three years old, the production house is already delivering a number of premium factual series this year, including Expidtion with Steve Backshall, a ten-part series currently airing on Dave, as well as Undiscovered Worlds with Steve Backshall on the BBC. Other productions this year include Planet of Volcanoes on PBS, ZDF and ARTE as well as a five-part series, Gangs of Lemur Island for Love Nature and the Smithsonian Channel.

Following completion of the deal, Wendy’s highly recognised editorial and production team will be further strengthened and expanded, enabling TTN to tell even more of nature’s most compelling stories. The investment is the first to be made by Sky Studios, Sky’s new Europe-wide development and production capability. With the backing of new owners Comcast, Sky’s investment in original content will more than double over the next five years across a range of genres.

Sky Studios will provide TTN with the support needed to accelerate its growth and become a leading international developer of wildlife shows. Whilst retaining full creative independence, TTN will also work closely with Sky Studios to develop content for distribution on the Sky platforms the broadcaster noted.

“At True to Nature, the natural world is at the heart of everything we do. We want to use storytelling to build lifelong relationships between viewers and the natural world. Our new and exciting creative partnership with Sky Studios feels like the natural next step to continue to realise our ambitions for True To Nature and we’re looking forward to making our dreams, reality.” – Wendy Darke, Founder & CEO, True to Nature