BBC Worldwide debuts a whole new BBC Earth across Asia at the beginning of October, laying Knowledge to rest and going big on natural history, science, better windows and authentic thrills.

When viewers across Asia wake up on Sunday, 4 October, BBC Knowledge will have disappeared entirely, replaced in 11 countries by BBC Earth and a seven-hour marathon of blue-chip docu Life Below Zero. This will be followed by a David Attenborough strand that includes the three-part Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild and the one-hour special with U.S. President Barack Obama interviewing David Attenborough at the White House in July this year.

The new 24-hour flagship linear channel is part of a multi-touchpoint brand that includes an online platform as well as on-ground attractions.

BBC Worldwide’s executive vice president for Asia, David Weilland, outlines a much bigger profile in the region for BBC Earth, including more events such as Planet Earth in Concert held in Singapore last year, and expanding BBC’s Orbi attraction in Yokohama to another Japanese city in 2016.

Weilland is also rolling out a theatrical release agenda following Enchanted Kingdom’s success in Japan, and an expansion of the giant-screen experience in markets beyond China, Korea and Hong Kong. Plans are already in place to bring a giant screen version of Predators to Asia next year.

“Nowadays you want to make sure your brand lives across multiple touch points with the consumer. BBC Earth can do that better than BBC Knowledge,” Weilland says.

Linear remains a lynchpin of the BBC Earth strategy. In addition to the 11 BBC Knowledge channel markets, the BBC Earth brand will roll out as a joint venture in India with Multi Screen Media (MSM), which operates the Sony-branded channels. Sony BBC Earth, majority owned by MSM, will be available in Tamil, English and Hindi. Regulatory approvals are being sought; no launch date has been disclosed.

A significant part of the programming strategy for the new channel is to ensure that key natural history titles will air first and exclusive, says Ryan Shiotani, BBC Worldwide Channels’ programming vice president. First up is the first and exclusive telecast of Shark. In addition, BBC Earth will premiere blue-chip David Attenborough series The Hunt in Asia less than 24 hours after the U.K., followed by Lands of the Monsoon, Life Below Zero series three and Infested.

Next year’s One Planet, another BBC blockbuster documentary, will also air on BBC Earth in Asia. Previously, first-run rights to some of the big blue-chip might have gone to free-to-air. “BBC Earth puts more emphasis on first and exclusive for pay-TV,” Shiotani says.

BBC Earth’s expansion in Asia is part of a global shift to super-factual content, a possible response to what Shiotani calls a “nature deficit disorder”. About 50% of the world’s population is urban, “people are craving contact with nature”. BBC Earth is designed “to give people that inspiration to connect with nature,” Shiotani adds.

The linear channel will be broader than the two-hour BBC Earthblock, which has run in Asia on Thursday nights for the past three years. The block focused on natural history programming. Shiotani says the full channel will include adventure, science and travel, “all with the human factor”.

“When we looked at translating Earth to the linear space, we looked at certain trends,” Shiotani says. Along with the rising interest in science, there’s a shift in tone. “People are responding to more authentic and genuine content, less over-produced programming,” Shiotani says.

There’s also higher online/digital engagement. Weilland points to the popularity of the BBC Earth vertical on bbc.com, with more than 2.5 million unique visitors a month and interactive features such as Your Life on Earth, which launched last year.

As factual entertainment expands its profile everywhere, Shiotani highlights BBC’s heritage in the premium factual space.

“In Asia, there is an audience that feels that knowledge and an understanding of the world around us is valuable. “We are looking at what makes us tick as humans, and the science behind that,” Shiotani says.

“There’s a human factor that runs through everything we do. We also see that in Asia there is a lot of interest in how to live better, fuller lives,” he adds.

While BBC Knowledge may be disappearing, much of the content will live on, either on BBC Earth or on other BBC channels in Asia. Life Below Zero migrates to BBC Earth along with shows such as Extreme Fishing. “All the blue chip natural history and science will continue,” Shiotani says, adding that “fishing works very well for us”.

Shows like Undercover Boss will move to BBC Lifestyle, along with Gordon Ramsay’s Hotel Hell, Secret Millionaire and Great British Bake Off. Shiotani says BBC Lifestyle will be broadened to include human stories. “We still will be doing food and home and design, but we felt that there is a place for great human stories,” he adds.

Most of the content for BBC Earth in Asia is acquired internally, with select third-party acquisitions. Extreme Weather and Fishing Impossible are among the BBC Worldwide commissions out of London to which Asia contributes.

BBC Earth’s not-unexpected arrival in Asia is part of a global initiative that focuses on three main brands that Weilland says “play to the strengths of the BBC” – BBC Earth, BBC First and BBC Brit. Will the others roll out in Asia? Wait and see.

This article first appeared in ContentAsia Issue 4, 2015, published in September 2015