
UKTV, the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers a month, today announced the acquisition of the brand new series CIA Declassified and the second series of Black Ops from World Media Rights. Both series have been acquired for Yesterday, the UK's biggest factual channel and are scheduled to start in Q1/Q2.
The deals were negotiated by UKTV's Acquisitions and Co-Production Manager Emma Sparks and World Media Rights' CEO Alan Griffiths, and ordered by UKTV's General Manager of Factual, Adrian Wills.
From Chile to Afghanistan, CIA Declassified tells the real stories of the CIAs covert operations, drawing from the declassification of documents which have been released over the last 20 years. Every episode reveals different hidden secrets from these documents, including how the CIA let off a bomb in Beirut and how Osama bin Laden's hiding place was tracked down by a group of women agents.
The series also investigates the CIA's prolonged campaign against Colonel Gaddafi, the CIA agent Felix Rodriguez who tracked-down and executed Che Guevara, and the true story behind CIA agent Tony Mendez's rescue mission of six American diplomats in Iran, which inspired the Hollywood film Argo.
Black Ops travels the world taking viewers on top secret special operations revealing how elite special units in different countries carry out their high-risk, zero-recognition assignments. Missions investigated in this series include the destruction of a nuclear processing reactor in Syria, a 2012 SAS raid to recover hostages in Afghanistan, and the release of the hostages in the Japanese Embassy siege in 1997.
Adrian Wills, General Manager for Yesterday, commented
Compelling real-world modern conflict stories are extremely popular with Yesterday viewers, as the ratings of the first series of Black Ops proved. We're really excited about the second series and the brand new series CIA Declassified, as they are both a gripping and exciting watch, using eyewitness and participant interviews, archive footage and dramatic reconstruction.
UKTV's Acquisitions and Co-Production Manager Emma Sparks, added
CIA Declassified and Black Ops give viewers the chance to enter the secretive world of the CIA and modern conflict, making them exciting and dangerous TV.
World Media Rights' CEO Alan Griffiths said
We are very pleased to help boost the ratings of new innovative channels like UKTV's Yesterday as WMR's mission is to create high quality television for exciting growing networks in the UK and around the world. Black Ops, with its audience of history and computer games fanatics, does just that while CIA Declassified gives new insights in to the way in which the CIA operates. WMR always goes for compelling stories - as that is the surest way to build an audience.
The first series of Black Ops averaged an opening audience of 389,000 adults, and achieved a 2.1% audience share.
For more information or interview opportunities, please contact: Emily Jones, Publicist, Factual
Lara Feinstein, Corporate Communications Coordinator
-ENDS- Notes to Editors About Yesterday Sky 537, Virgin 203, Freeview 19
Showcasing UK premiere series such as Raiders of the Lost Past, Museum Secrets, and Treasure Detectives, Yesterday provides entertainment inspired by history. The channel also features dynamic history and science-inspired series such as Perfect Storms: Disasters that Changed the World, and programmes which challenge expectations including Secret Life of . Ancient history is also featured in series including Alexander's Lost Cities and Mummy Mysteries, plus modern conflict in shows such as Black Ops.
yesterdaytv.co.uk
About UKTV 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 number one channel in the Factual genre, the number one channels in the Lifestyle genre (Pay and Free) and the most famous channel and programmes in the Entertainment genre.
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 Vision, TalkTalk on 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.
corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press
About World Media Rights World Media Rights (WMR) is currently one of the largest factual programme producers in the UK. Created in 2007 it now supplies factual TV programming to over fifty countries globally and its programmes are regularly broadcast on channels including Discovery (in Europe and the USA), France Television, Canale Plus, ZDF, Mediaset and UKTV. The WMR senior management team includes renowned television industry executive and broadcaster Andrew Neil, Alan Griffiths (CEO) and Matthew Barrett (Creative Director).
www.worldmediarights.com
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
23/05/2026
In its second year as rightsholder, FOX Sports goes bigger across the board for ...
23/05/2026
Tonight's MLS matchup between the LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo FC will m...
23/05/2026
AI-powered vocal tool gains first new language expansion
IK Multimedia's AI-powered voice-creation software has seen a number of updates since it launch...
23/05/2026
Nielsen Global Leadership Network graduates celebrate Earth Day 2026
Nielsen vo...
23/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/05/2026
Germany's Magenta TV, which will have 44 exclusive FIFA World Cup match broa...
22/05/2026
DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has acquired global broadcast rights to the International Federation of American Football's ( I...
22/05/2026
ATHLOS, the all-women's professional track and field league, has announced i...
22/05/2026
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced that the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards and the 47th Annual News & Documentary Emmy A...
22/05/2026
Wooden Camera today announced the release of new accessories for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive. The new lineup includes a redesigned Top Plate and Side Rai...
22/05/2026
YES Network and OTT Advisors have announced a sixth consecutive season of their streaming partnership, continuing their collaboration on the Gotham app. OTT Adv...
22/05/2026
NESN, New England's premier sports network, will again turn its camera to Fe...
22/05/2026
Dale Pro Audio is hosting an RF over Fiber Livestream Webinar on May 28 from 1-2:30 pm EST. With major sporting events and large-scale productions putting incre...
22/05/2026
Audio-Technica has announced key leadership appointments designed to further strengthen its sales organization and drive continued growth across the Americas. M...
22/05/2026
After nearly four decades shaping the global combat sports landscape, Scott Coker has announced a powerful return as he looks to build a new international mixed...
22/05/2026
Skyline Communications, the company behind the globally deployed DataMiner xOps platform, today announced the launch of xOps Vanguard Runway, a strategic accele...
22/05/2026
For the fully onsite production, 30 cameras - including a SkyCam and Megalodon - will capture the action in Texas
One of the world's biggest rodeo producti...
22/05/2026
Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A. has modernized its playout operations, implementing a fully redundant, multichannel env...
22/05/2026
As the 2026 Major League Pickleball season kicks off this weekend in Dallas, it ...
22/05/2026
Shure has become a minority investor in Edge Sound Research, a start-up company that is developing new experiential audio technologies that redefine how many au...
22/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...
22/05/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL) and Amazon Music announced that GRAMMY Award-winning superstar Jelly Roll will provide the official theme song of the 2026 Stan...
22/05/2026
David Pogue will keynote SVV Summer Camp and discuss Apple at 50: How the World...
22/05/2026
In its second year as rightsholder, FOX Sports goes bigger across the board for ...
22/05/2026
The broadcaster is drawing on lessons learned in its first year of covering the ...
22/05/2026
At our 2026 Investor Day, we shared an inside look at the rebuild of our advertising business. This pivot to our own purpose-built platform is already driving s...
22/05/2026
Podcasting on Spotify continues to grow, and so do the ways listeners engage with it. At Investor Day 2026, we shared how we're building the next chapter of...
22/05/2026
Limited-time collections now available
Restoration experts CEDAR Audio have recently launched a new line of Icons plug-ins that make their powerful processo...
22/05/2026
Three new classics join Model Pass line-up
Boss' PX-1 Plugout Pedal offers an innovative approach to guitar pedals, providing users with a hardware stom...
22/05/2026
At its Meitingen site, SGL Carbon has implemented two key projects to further de...
22/05/2026
Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late...
22/05/2026
Latest data reveals steady distributor rankings, a seasonal shift toward digital...
22/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/05/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited (NSE: AMAGI, BSE: 544679), a cloud-native SaaS platform providing AI-enabled solutions to global media and entertainment companies, tod...
22/05/2026
An nima Post Relies on Cintel to Revive Classic Mexican Films
Brie Clayton May 22, 2026
0 Comments
Film scanner and DaVinci Resolve Studio help manage...
22/05/2026
Boris FX Sapphire Adds Optical Beauty and Hypnotic Textures
Jessie Electa Petrov May 22, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release introduces advanced defocu...
22/05/2026
Deployment Preserves Trusted Workflows While Enabling a Path to UHD and SMPTE ST 2110
Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A....
22/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/05/2026
Back to All News
Ex-Husband, Current Husband, One Wild Rescue: Korean Action Co...
22/05/2026
Catch the latest in Irish music live from venues such as Whelan's, R is n Du...
21/05/2026
Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...