Yesterday brings ancient history to life in special season of programmes

Britain's leading factual channel, Yesterday, has announced that it has acquired exclusive UK rights for two brand new series, Mummy Mysteries and Alexander's Lost World, to complement a special season of programming scheduled for Q2 2013.

Both deals have been negotiated by UKTV's Acquisitions Executive, Emma Sparks and ordered by Yesterday's General Manager Adrian Wills.

Mummy Mysteries is a 6 x 30' acquired from Electric Sky, investigates the circumstances surrounding suspicious deaths from the ancient past using state of the art scientific techniques. In each episode a different team of archaeologists embark on a quest to find out exactly how and why a victim met their death.

The series explores an Iron Age mass grave found in France, sinister mummified human bodies located in the eerie swamp bog lands of Northern Europe, poisoned baby corpses left to rest in the Atacama Desert of Chile, and an abandoned cemetery connected to a folkloric belief in vampires.

Alexander's Lost World is a 6 x 60' co-production between David Adams Films and Sky Vision. The series was acquired from Sky Vision and takes viewers on a dangerous journey as David Adams attempts to be the first man to explore the 1,500-mile course of the River Oxus through war-torn Afghanistan and Central Asia. His mission is to tell the untold story of the Genesis, life and destruction of the Oxus the fifth great Civilization.

Over the last 20 years, Adams has developed his reputation both through his reporting and the numerous documentary films he has produced. He is best known for his investigative work and his passion for anthropology, archaeology, history and diverse cultures.

Adrian Wills, General Manager of Yesterday, says: Both Mummy Mysteries and Alexander's Lost World are valuable additions to Yesterday's line-up of engaging and dynamic programming in the second quarter of this year, which already includes Perfect Storms: Disasters that changed the World and Secret Life of.... This special season of programmes will take viewers on an incredible journey through time, enabling them to get up close and personal with history as experts uncover macabre and fascinating stories from our past.

In 2012 UKTV become the fastest growing commercial TV network, with a 4.43% share, up 10% compared to 2011.

ENDS

For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:

Emily Jones

Publicist, Factual

020 7299 6284

Emily.Jones1@uktv.co.uk

Nicola Rowley

Factual and Lifestyle Publicity Manager

020 7299 6271

Nicola.Rowley@uktv.co.uk

Notes to editors

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

www.yesterdaytv.co.uk

Showcasing new series such as Raiders of the Lost Past, Mafia's Greatest Hits, Medieval Dead and Instruments of Death Freeview channel Yesterday seeks to redefine what history is. Other popular series Find My Past, Great British Ghosts and Museum Secrets and Yesterday also celebrated the swinging sixties with its Spirit of the Sixties Season. The season featured a diverse range of programmes including original commissions From Blackpool to Benidorm, I Was A Jet Set Stewardess and Cilla's Unswung Sixties which became Yesterday's highest rated commission to date.

About UKTV (www.uktv.co.uk)

UKTV is a major industry player and one of the most important and successful multichannel providers in the UK. Formed in 1997, it is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE: SNI) .

Attracting over 41 million viewers each month, the network consists of 10 distinctive channel brands Watch, Gold, Dave, alibi, Yesterday, Blighty, Eden, Home, Really and Good Food offering a broad range of quality programming across entertainment, lifestyle and factual. UKTV currently operates 25 broadcast streams when its eight multiplexes and five HD channels are taken into account, and 11 highly successful websites. The network also runs video on demand (VOD) services on Sky and BT Vision and is part of TalkTalk on YouView. In addition, UKTV recently launched its own On Demand' services with Dave On Demand and Yesterday On Demand.

UKTV's successful programming strategy combines high profile original commissions and key acquisitions with quality content from the BBC.

All UKTV channels are distributed on Sky and Virgin Media. Dave, Really and Yesterday are also available on Freeview.

LINK:	http://uktv.co.uk/network/item/aid/656218...
	See more stories from uktv

Most recent headlines