BBC Worldwide Invests in South African Production Company

BBC Worldwide announced Tuesday that it has invested in South African production company Rapid Blue. Based in South Africa, Nigeria and Angola, Rapid Blue produces original productions and international television formats for South African, African and international audiences.

Rapid Blue – headed by dynamo couple Kee-Leen and Duncan Irvine – has produced thousands of hours of television for local audiences including The X Factor, SA’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, Dragons’ Den, Four Weddings and Pawn Stars. Productions for Nigeria, Ghana and Angola include Don’t Forget the Lyrics, GBam, Got Talent and X Factor.

Kee-Leen revealed they are “excited” and “honoured” by the investment, which comes after 18 months of discussions between the two companies.

Congratulatory messages have poured in from industry insiders and former contestants on their shows. As 702 presenter Samantha Cowen said: “Couldn’t have happened to better, nicer people!”

In a press release, issued Tuesday, BBC Worldwide said “the investment into Rapid Blue demonstrates BBC Worldwide’s desire to expand in the region and meet the growing demand for high-end, compelling and relevant local content for the African market, in addition to taking African content to the world.”

Established in 1993, Rapid Blue is the leading formats producer in Africa with an impressive list of local and international awards, including an Emmy in the category of Best International Documentary as a producer for Lion’s Trail.

BBC Worldwide has worked with Rapid Blue on multiple series of SAFTA award-winning shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, The Weakest Link and Come Dine With Me South Africa; and in 2015, Rapid Blue produced the first series of the BBC Lifestyle ratings-hit, The Great South African Bake Off.

Rapid Blue’s CEO Duncan Irvine said: “The partnership will allow us to accelerate our growth in Africa and increase opportunities for employment and training. In particular, we are looking forward to developing a dynamic drama slate.

“This is a relatively new development for Rapid Blue but already we have shows being picked up for 2016. It is our continual aim to create world class productions and we see this partnership enabling us to have even more of our shows being broadcast around the world and drawing great audiences in South Africa and Africa.”

Kee-Leen added: “Duncan and I are extremely passionate about producing relevant content for the African continent and taking this content to the rest of the world.

“We have spent the last 26 years playing an integral part in the local television landscape, drawing immense pride and satisfaction from the many hit series we’ve produced for both local and international audiences, and the huge number of people we’ve nurtured and developed to either become new business owners themselves or key players in the industry, and this partnership is just another step in fulfilling those goals.”

BBC Worldwide’s extensive formats catalogue includes Top Gear, The Weakest Link, You’re Back in The Room and Luther. Previous BBC Worldwide format sales to the South African market include Strictly Come Dancing, Friends Like These and Dog Eat Dog.

BBC Worldwide has fully owned production bases in the USA, France, India, and Nordics, a joint venture with All3Media in Germany with Tower Productions, and an entertainment format production partnership with FremantleMedia in Australia. BBC Worldwide opened an office in Johannesburg in January 2015.