ITV buys wildlife documentary maker | Business

ITV is paying up to £183 million for a production company behind award-winning wildlife documentaries in a deal that will boost its firepower in nature programmes and strengthen its distribution ties with streaming services like Netflix and Apple+.

The broadcaster and programme maker is buying 79.5 per cent of Plimsoll Productions, which is based in Bristol, with an option to purchase the rest of the business later.

The deal will give an undisclosed payday to Plimsoll management, led by Grant Mansfield, who founded the business in 2013. The company has produced a string of natural history hits including Tiny World for Apple+ and Hostile Planet on Disney+. It has also made the yet-to-be-released A Year on Planet Earth, narrated by Stephen Fry, for ITV