Factual programming creators Discovery and BBC which together produced the remarkable Planet Earth, Life, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet and Wonders of the Solar System are no longer formally working on big event programming, having announced that "their longstanding partnership is coming to an end, by mutual agreement".
The BBC and Discovery will still work together on Hidden Kingdom, Survival and How to Build a Planet.
The BBC which runs its international BBC Knowledge channel wants to remain in blue chip high-brow factual and documentary television while Discovery's focus is leaning towards character-driven documentary reality shows.
"As Discovery's global audiences continue to flourish, they demand the very best science and natural history programming," said Andrew Jackson, Discovery's executive vice president for production and development.
"This is taking us in exciting, new directions, creating these essential shows for numerous cutting edge platforms. We look forward to working with the many talented production companies around the world, including the BBC, with whom we have enjoyed a long and successful relationship," said Andrew Jackson.
"The BBC and Discovery have enjoyed a long-standing and successful relationship, and although this phase of our partnership is now coming to an end, we look forward to working together on a number of projects in the future," said Bal Samra, the BBC's commercial director.
"Science and Natural History programs have always been a core part of the BBCs DNA, and we have ambitious plans for the future with an exciting range of new content in the pipeline. International demand for our content has never been higher, and we continue to enjoy a collaborative and fruitful relationship with a wide range of co-producers."
The BBC is working on One Planet, The Hunt, Wild Alaska, and 24 Hours on Earth which will be co-produced with BBC America.
A further seven titles confirmed as part of BBC Worldwide's investment are: Oceans, Kangaroo Dundee, The Rains, Sleepover at the Zoo, Wild Japan, Wild Patagonia and Wild New Zealand. All eleven titles will be distributed globally by BBC Worldwide.
