BBC WORLDWIDE AND LINK TV JOIN FORCES ON
DOCUMENTARY AND NEWS PROGRAMMING

New York, NY -- BBC Worldwide America's Sales & Distribution division today announced a licensing deal with international news and cultural programming network Link TV for a compelling line-up of BBC Worldwide documentaries, including the fascinating series, Tribal Wives and a selection of shows from Panorama, the BBC's celebrated investigative and current affairs strand. Tribal Wives is a docu-series that follows six women who give up their everyday lives to spend a month living with some of the world's most remote tribes. The show offers viewers a rare and unique window into tribal culture, and, in turn, the tribe's perception of western culture and their views on the visiting members. Tribal Wives premieres on Link TV this Saturday, February 4 at 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT with an encore airing on Sunday, February 5 at 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT. The series airs Saturdays and Sundays at the same times through March 11th, and will be repeated throughout the year.

Additional titles include Toughest Place to Be..., a series that takes ordinary people with ordinary jobs, and asks them to work with locals in places that are wildly different from what they're used to: from an ambulance paramedic in Guatemala City to a midwife in Liberia, Africa. Toughest Place to Be... premieres on Link TV on Sunday February 5 at 11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT.  The series airs Sundays at the same time through February 19th. 

From BBC's renowned Panorama strand of investigative docs, Land of Anarchy offers a glimpse into a land of war, banditry, and piracy -- Somalia. Reporter Peter Greste travels to Mogadishu to meet those who attempt to live amid a deadly civil war. Panorama's Land of Anarchy premieres on Link TV on Sunday, February 26 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT with a repeat broadcast on Friday, March 2 at 11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT.  Also from Panorama, Mugabe's Blood Diamonds takes viewers deep into Zimbabwe's Marange diamond fields and uncovers shocking evidence of torture camps and wide-scale killings. As the international community argues over whether these diamonds should be sold on the open market, Panorama asks if President Robert Mugabe will ever face prosecution for these crimes. Mugabe's Blood Diamonds will premiere on Link TV on Sunday, March 4 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT with an encore showing on Friday, March 9 at 11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT.  Finally, Secret Pakistan is a timely and shocking investigation into how the nation's government and intelligence agency, the ISI, have helped build the insurgency in Afghanistan and continue to control and manipulate it for its own purposes. Watch out for the premiere of this two-part documentary coming to Link TV on Sunday, March 18 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT and Sunday, March 25 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT. The shows will repeat on Friday, March 23 at 11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT and Friday, March 30 at 11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT, respectively.

Says Paul Mason, Link TV's CEO: "Link TV has been bringing hard-hitting BBC investigative documentaries and original series to American audiences for 12 years.  We are proud and delighted to continue this relationship, especially given that so many quality BBC programs are only available in the US via LinkTV."

Matt Forde, EVP of Sales & Distribution, BBC Worldwide said: "BBC Worldwide and valued partner, Link TV, share a passion for quality, factual programming that take viewers deep into worlds far from our western society.  The collection of shows Link TV has licensed offer profiles of real people who live in the news stories we consume every day in newspapers, on TV, and online."

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ABOUT BBC WORLDWIDE AMERICA SALES & DISTRIBUTION

BBC Worldwide America Sales & Distribution is one of seven core businesses under BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK public service broadcaster, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). BBC Worldwide exists to maximize the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the BBC, and invests in programming in return for rights. The Sales & Distribution business negotiates, sells and distributes television programs to networks and secures co-production partners, in the Americas region.

ABOUT LINK MEDIA & LINK TV

Link Media uses media and the power of stories to engage, inform and inspire its audiences to participate in transformational, sustainable change on issues of global importance. Founded in 1999, Link Media operates the Link TV national network and the websites LinkTV.org and ViewChange.org. An independent and non-commercial media company, Link Media acquires, produces and delivers global news, documentaries and cultural programming over three distribution channels: broadcast, web, and mobile devices. 

Link TV has been recognized for its original news programs, including the Peabody Award-winning Mosaic: World News from the Middle East and LinkAsia. Link TV also provides one of the only US outlets for cutting-edge international documentaries and drama series, including investigative documentaries from the BBC (Spotlight series), documentaries from Iran (Bridge to Iran series), foreign films (Cinemondo series), world-class documentaries (Doc-Debut series), and global drama (Borgen, the Danish drama series).

Link TV is available as basic service on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410, reaching more than 35 million US households. Select Link TV programming also airs on 220 cable outlets, including in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, reaching an additional 22 million homes. For complete background information, program schedule and Internet streaming of many programs, go to LinkTV.org. Follow on Twitter @viewchange and @linktv, and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LinkTV and www.Facebook.com/ViewChange.

CONTACTS

For Link Media:
Lorraine Hess
(646) 230-0270 x 117
lhess@linktv.org
For Press: linktv.org/bbc

For BBC Worldwide:
Catherine Mirra
(212) 705-9335
Catherine.Mirra@bbc.com