97-437: The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries , including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth , and has a long association with David Attenborough 's authored documentaries, starting with 1979's Life on Earth . The Natural History Unit
194-457: A 50-minute Sunday evening slot. Because of the challenge of producing enough colour material, the commission was shared between the NHU and London's Travel and Exploration Unit. The extended opportunities offered by the 50-minute format and improvements in film technology and expertise finally allowed the NHU to begin showcasing its talent. One of Attenborough's main achievements as Controller of BBC 2
291-557: A Top Gear episode in December 2022. In March 2024, BBC Studios had announced that they have acquired Melbourne-based Australian live-action production powerhouse company Werner Film Productions based and placed the acquired company under their Australian division BBC Studios Productions Australia expanding their operations in Australia. BBC Studios has built up a stake in a variety of different production companies. BBC Records
388-554: A chronological summary of the Unit's major television and film productions. As well as returning series such as Springwatch and Autumnwatch and natural history content for BBC One's The One Show , the Unit has been commissioned to produce or co-produce the following announced titles: The Natural History Unit as a whole was awarded the Gold Medal at the 2001 Royal Television Society awards for its "outstanding contribution over
485-622: A division of the BBC was completed in April 2016. In September 2016, the BBC announced that it would tender its non-news programmes over the next 11 years, beginning with programmes such as A Question of Sport , Holby City and Songs of Praise . In October 2016, the BBC announced that it planned to lay off 300 employees from the division seen as redundant. In December 2016, BBC Studios announced that it had reached an agreement with Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) in regards to
582-624: A joint venture in 2016 and launched in 2017 in North America; the international service remains a joint venture of BBC Studios and ITV plc. A separately managed UK version of the service launched in 2019 but is now a fully owned subsidiary of ITV, after they announced in 2022 that they had bought out the BBC and its other partners with the intention of integrating the service with ITVX . Zoologist Zoology ( UK : / z u ˈ ɒ l ə dʒ i / zoo- OL -ə-jee , US : / z oʊ ˈ ɒ l ə dʒ i / zoh- OL -ə-jee )
679-609: A laboratory setting. Ethologists have been particularly concerned with the evolution of behavior and the understanding of behavior in terms of the theory of natural selection . In one sense, the first modern ethologist was Charles Darwin , whose book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals , influenced many future ethologists. A subfield of ethology is behavioral ecology which attempts to answer Nikolaas Tinbergen 's four questions with regard to animal behavior: what are
776-420: A long-term deal with WarnerMedia 's upcoming HBO Max for streaming rights to past seasons of top BBC programmes such as Doctor Who , The Honourable Woman , Luther , and Top Gear . In January 2020, it also sold second-window streaming rights to 14 series to CW Seed (a video on-demand platform operated by The CW , a television network co-owned by WarnerMedia). In February 2021, BBC Studios launched
873-558: A nest hole. By 1957, with Look firmly established and Gillard and Hawkins lobbying hard, the BBC management in London approved the official formation of a Natural History Unit. Gillard was on the search for a senior producer to head the new Unit, and asked David Attenborough to take on the role. Attenborough had good credentials (he was a trained zoologist ) but declined, having recently settled in London with his young family. Instead, he
970-413: A new footing, by explaining the processes by which it can occur, and providing observational evidence that it had done so. Darwin's theory was rapidly accepted by the scientific community and soon became a central axiom of the rapidly developing science of biology. The basis for modern genetics began with the work of Gregor Mendel on peas in 1865, although the significance of his work was not realized at
1067-406: A new perspective on the fundamental basis of life. Having previously been the realm of gentlemen naturalists, over the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, zoology became an increasingly professional scientific discipline . Explorer-naturalists such as Alexander von Humboldt investigated the interaction between organisms and their environment, and the ways this relationship depends on geography, laying
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#17327758590151164-493: A new streaming brand in North America known as BBC Select , dedicated to factual content. On 22 February 2021, BBC Studios signed a first-look deal with Gobstopper Group. In March 2021, it was announced that the BBC Children's Productions and BBC Global News units would also be transferred into BBC Studios. With the change, BBC Studios will handle international distribution and advertising sales for BBC World News , while
1261-709: A process involving the union of a male and female haploid gamete , each gamete formed by meiosis . Ordinarily, gametes produced by separate individuals unite by a process of fertilization to form a diploid zygote that can then develop into a genetically unique individual progeny. However, some animals are also capable, as an alternative reproductive process, to reproduce parthenogenetically. Parthenogenesis has been described in snakes and lizards (see Misplaced Pages Parthenogenesis in squamates ), in amphibians (see Misplaced Pages Parthenogenesis in amphibians ) and in numerous other species (see Misplaced Pages Parthenogenesis ). Generally, meiosis in parthanogenetically reproducing animals occurs by
1358-496: A proposal to split the BBC's in-house production units for non-news television programming into a separate BBC Studios division, which would eventually, with BBC Trust approval as part of the next revision to the BBC's charter, be spun-out as a for-profit subsidiary of the BBC. This proposal would allow the BBC's units to produce programmes for other broadcasters and digital outlets (which could be done in conjunction with its international distribution arm BBC Worldwide ) in addition to
1455-570: A special award at the International Broadcasting Convention in recognition of its unique contribution to wildlife film and documentary making. On television, the anniversary was marked with the broadcast of Saving Planet Earth , a conservation-themed series which helped to raise over £1.5 million for the BBC Wildlife Fund. In October 2007, the BBC announced that the NHU would suffer cuts of
1552-494: A third in both staff numbers and its £37 million annual budget, as a result of the Government's decision to impose a lower than inflation increase in the television licence fee. The cutbacks were widely condemned within the media industry and by programme-makers, including David Attenborough. In response to the criticism, Keith Scholey, Factual Controller of BBC Vision, promised that the BBC would "continue to make and show
1649-458: Is a form of scientific taxonomy . Modern biological classification has its root in the work of Carl Linnaeus , who grouped species according to shared physical characteristics. These groupings have since been revised to improve consistency with the Darwinian principle of common descent . Molecular phylogenetics , which uses nucleic acid sequence as data, has driven many recent revisions and
1746-649: Is a specialist department within BBC Studios Productions. Each year it produces around 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio programmes, making it the largest wildlife documentary production house in the world. The BBC commissions programmes from the Unit for broadcast on five terrestrial television channels ( BBC One , BBC Two , BBC Four , CBBC and CBeebies ) and BBC Radio 4 . It also makes programmes for other broadcasters and services including Apple TV+ , Warner Bros. Discovery , National Geographic Global Networks and NBC Universal . Content
1843-665: Is administered by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature . A merging draft, BioCode, was published in 1997 in an attempt to standardize nomenclature, but has yet to be formally adopted. Vertebrate zoology is the biological discipline that consists of the study of vertebrate animals, that is animals with a backbone , such as fish , amphibians , reptiles , birds and mammals . The various taxonomically oriented disciplines i.e. mammalogy , biological anthropology , herpetology , ornithology , and ichthyology seek to identify and classify species and study
1940-480: Is an integrative field of study, uniting concepts and information from evolutionary biology , taxonomy , ecology , physical geography , geology , paleontology and climatology . The origin of this field of study is widely accredited to Alfred Russel Wallace , a British biologist who had some of his work jointly published with Charles Darwin . Molecular biology studies the common genetic and developmental mechanisms of animals and plants, attempting to answer
2037-402: Is being studied. For example, what is learned about the physiology of yeast cells can also apply to human cells. The field of animal physiology extends the tools and methods of human physiology to non-human species. Physiology studies how, for example, the nervous , immune , endocrine , respiratory , and circulatory systems function and interact. Developmental biology is the study of
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#17327758590152134-406: Is done on both the microscopic and molecular levels for single-celled organisms such as bacteria as well as the specialized cells in multicellular organisms such as humans . Understanding the structure and function of cells is fundamental to all of the biological sciences. The similarities and differences between cell types are particularly relevant to molecular biology. Anatomy considers
2231-443: Is likely to continue to do so. Biological classification belongs to the science of zoological systematics . Many scientists now consider the five-kingdom system outdated. Modern alternative classification systems generally start with the three-domain system : Archaea (originally Archaebacteria); Bacteria (originally Eubacteria); Eukaryota (including protists , fungi , plants , and animals ) These domains reflect whether
2328-601: Is marketed internationally under the BBC Earth brand. Original content is also broadcast on the Earth Unplugged YouTube channel. The Unit has been based in Broadcasting House, Bristol since its formation in 1957, and has been headed by Jonny Keeling since 2021. The BBC natural history unit's links to Bristol date back to the 1940s, when Desmond Hawkins , then a young producer, joined
2425-415: Is partly based on paleontology , which uses the fossil record to answer questions about the mode and tempo of evolution, and partly on the developments in areas such as population genetics and evolutionary theory. Following the development of DNA fingerprinting techniques in the late 20th century, the application of these techniques in zoology has increased the understanding of animal populations. In
2522-406: Is quantitative, and recently a significant amount of work has been done using computer science techniques such as bioinformatics and computational biology . Molecular genetics , the study of gene structure and function, has been among the most prominent sub-fields of molecular biology since the early 2000s. Other branches of biology are informed by molecular biology, by either directly studying
2619-703: Is reflected in zoology by the presence of animals in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Although the concept of zoology as a single coherent field arose much later, the zoological sciences emerged from natural history reaching back to the biological works of Aristotle and Galen in the ancient Greco-Roman world . In the fourth century BC, Aristotle looked at animals as living organisms, studying their structure, development and vital phenomena. He divided them into two groups: animals with blood, equivalent to our concept of vertebrates , and animals without blood, invertebrates . He spent two years on Lesbos , observing and describing
2716-564: Is the genus, and sapiens the specific epithet, both of them combined make up the species name. When writing the scientific name of an organism, it is proper to capitalize the first letter in the genus and put all of the specific epithet in lowercase. Additionally, the entire term may be italicized or underlined. The dominant classification system is called the Linnaean taxonomy . It includes ranks and binomial nomenclature . The classification, taxonomy , and nomenclature of zoological organisms
2813-448: Is the scientific study of animals . Its studies include the structure , embryology , classification , habits , and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct , and how they interact with their ecosystems . Zoology is one of the primary branches of biology . The term is derived from Ancient Greek ζῷον , zōion ('animal'), and λόγος , logos ('knowledge', 'study'). Although humans have always been interested in
2910-614: Is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. Evolutionary research is concerned with the origin and descent of species , as well as their change over time, and includes scientists from many taxonomically oriented disciplines. For example, it generally involves scientists who have special training in particular organisms such as mammalogy , ornithology , herpetology , or entomology , but use those organisms as systems to answer general questions about evolution. Evolutionary biology
3007-858: The Wildlife Special miniseries Tiger: Spy in the Jungle both reportedly achieved the highest-ever audience appreciation index (AI) rating for a factual programme. Since launching commercially, the Natural History Unit has won commissions from international broadcasters including Apple TV+ ( The Year Earth Changed and Prehistoric Planet ), Discovery Channel ( Endangered , narrated by Ellen DeGeneres ), NBCUniversal ( The Americas previously known as The New World ), National Geographic ( Ocean Xplorers in partnership with James Cameron ), and PBS ( Wild Scandinavia , narrated by Rebecca Ferguson ), as well as producing for
BBC Studios Natural History Unit - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-545: The anatomy of different groups. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). Physiology studies the mechanical, physical, and biochemical processes of living organisms by attempting to understand how all of the structures function as a whole. The theme of "structure to function" is central to biology. Physiological studies have traditionally been divided into plant physiology and animal physiology , but some principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism
3201-554: The proximate causes of the behavior, the developmental history of the organism, the survival value and phylogeny of the behavior? Another area of study is animal cognition , which uses laboratory experiments and carefully controlled field studies to investigate an animal's intelligence and learning. Biogeography studies the spatial distribution of organisms on the Earth , focusing on topics like dispersal and migration , plate tectonics , climate change , and cladistics . It
3298-399: The taxonomist . Originally it was thought that species were immutable, but with the arrival of Darwin's theory of evolution, the field of cladistics came into being, studying the relationships between the different groups or clades . Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, the evolutionary history of a group is known as its phylogeny , and the relationship between
3395-552: The 16th century. During the Renaissance and early modern period, zoological thought was revolutionized in Europe by a renewed interest in empiricism and the discovery of many novel organisms. Prominent in this movement were Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey , who used experimentation and careful observation in physiology , and naturalists such as Carl Linnaeus , Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , and Buffon who began to classify
3492-470: The 1980s, developmental biology re-entered evolutionary biology from its initial exclusion from the modern synthesis through the study of evolutionary developmental biology . Related fields often considered part of evolutionary biology are phylogenetics , systematics , and taxonomy . Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behavior under natural conditions, as opposed to behaviorism , which focuses on behavioral response studies in
3589-425: The BBC's publicly funded properties. As a for-profit company, BBC Studios would be allowed to pay higher wages to its executives and talent, and no longer face scrutiny over them as it did as a public entity. The proposal was described by The Guardian as being "one of the biggest changes to the BBC in its 93-year history". The proposal attracted criticism from independent studios, who felt that it would result in
3686-667: The BBC. Content is marketed internationally under BBC Studios' BBC Earth brand. Original content is also broadcast on the BBC Earth YouTube channel. According to BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide . BBC Studios creates, develops, produces, distributes, broadcasts, finances and sells content around
3783-504: The Move . Natural World also received a three-year commission from BBC Two on its 25th anniversary. Post 2010, a greater emphasis was placed on climate change, which several special programmes broadcast focusing on the issue. More broadly, series looked at the negative effects of climate change and habitat destruction within series that did not focus solely on the topic. In 2016, BBC's non-news content production, including natural history,
3880-518: The Unit's first colour production. This was one of six films made for the BBC by part-time film-makers Ron Peggs and Leslie Jackman . Leslie filmed the insect sequences at his home in Paignton using specimens collected by John Burton. Colour transmission finally arrived in 1967 on BBC 2 under the stewardship of David Attenborough, who had retired from programme-making to move into BBC administration. The first natural history film to be shown in colour
3977-582: The West Region staff. His personal interest in the subject led to a radio series called The Naturalist , which began on the Home Service in 1946 and proved an immediate success, later augmented by Out of Doors and Birds in Britain . By the early 1950s, Hawkins had been promoted to Head of Programmes, West Region and was keen to translate his success to the developing medium of television . At
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4074-409: The acquisition of Scandinavian production company STV (not to be confused with Scotland's STV Group ). The Copenhagen-based company will be rebranded BBC Studios Nordic Productions. In October 2023, press reports confirmed that BBC Studios had reached a multi-million pound financial settlement to compensate Top Gear presenter Freddie Flintoff for the injuries he sustained in a car crash when filming
4171-526: The ambitious, large-scale, truly memorable series that audiences associate with BBC natural history output". Titles affected by the cuts include the BBC Two Wild strand. Productions already underway were not affected by the cuts, so the following year came Wild China , Pacific Abyss , Lost Land of the Jaguar and Big Cat Live , as well as the Unit's most ambitious radio event to date, World on
4268-449: The animals and plants, considering the adaptations of different organisms and the function of their parts. Four hundred years later, Roman physician Galen dissected animals to study their anatomy and the function of the different parts, because the dissection of human cadavers was prohibited at the time. This resulted in some of his conclusions being false, but for many centuries it was considered heretical to challenge any of his views, so
4365-427: The cells have nuclei or not, as well as differences in the chemical composition of the cell exteriors. Further, each kingdom is broken down recursively until each species is separately classified. The order is: Domain ; kingdom ; phylum ; class ; order ; family ; genus ; species . The scientific name of an organism is generated from its genus and species. For example, humans are listed as Homo sapiens . Homo
4462-434: The clades can be shown diagrammatically in a cladogram . Although someone who made a scientific study of animals would historically have described themselves as a zoologist, the term has come to refer to those who deal with individual animals, with others describing themselves more specifically as physiologists, ethologists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, pharmacologists, endocrinologists or parasitologists. Although
4559-472: The company in line with other major multinational studio conglomerates. BBC Studios Productions was the UK's most commissioned creator of new content in 2019, with 77 new commissions from the BBC and third-parties. It achieved 73 awards and 202 nominations in 2019/2020. BBC Studios represents formats and programmes made by hundreds of independent producers, as well as its own production teams and returned £176m to
4656-517: The determination of the double helical structure of the DNA molecule by Francis Crick and James Watson in 1953, the realm of molecular biology opened up, leading to advances in cell biology , developmental biology and molecular genetics . The study of systematics was transformed as DNA sequencing elucidated the degrees of affinity between different organisms. Zoology is the branch of science dealing with animals . A species can be defined as
4753-647: The discovery of the structure of DNA by Francis Crick and James Watson in 1953, the realm of molecular biology opened up, leading to advances in cell biology , developmental biology and molecular genetics . The history of zoology traces the study of the animal kingdom from ancient to modern times. Prehistoric people needed to study the animals and plants in their environment to exploit them and survive. Cave paintings, engravings and sculptures in France dating back 15,000 years show bison, horses, and deer in carefully rendered detail. Similar images from other parts of
4850-456: The diversity of life and the fossil record , as well as studying the development and behavior of organisms. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek did pioneering work in microscopy and revealed the previously unknown world of microorganisms , laying the groundwork for cell theory . van Leeuwenhoek's observations were endorsed by Robert Hooke ; all living organisms were composed of one or more cells and could not generate spontaneously. Cell theory provided
4947-515: The early problems for the Unit was the difficulty in sourcing film stock . At the time, the only wildlife cameramen were amateurs, and the footage wasn't always good enough for broadcast. The embryo unit's first film camera, a clockwork Bolex , was bought from a Bristol camera shop with petty cash by Desmond's assistant, Tony Soper . Some of Scott's own expedition films were used for early episodes of Look . One particularly outstanding film from 1955, shot by Heinz Sielmann , showed woodpeckers inside
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#17327758590155044-703: The first official Head of the Unit. It celebrated its silver jubilee in 1982 with the miniseries Flight of the Condor , and sealed its reputation as one of the foremost production companies for popular natural history films in the following decades. A succession of series have followed the format established by Life on Earth , often presented or narrated by Attenborough, and transmitted on the BBC's main channel. The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006) typify these signature programmes, characterised by high production values, specially-commissioned musical scores and often ground-breaking footage of wildlife from around
5141-498: The first underwater films. Nicholas Crocker, a senior producer with West Region, became the Unit's first Head in September 1957. Founder members included Tony Soper (producer) and Christopher Parsons (assistant film editor ), both of whom would go on to play a major part in the Unit's development. Although much of the Unit's early output concentrated on British and European wildlife, one of its first productions to be broadcast
5238-410: The formation of a "super-indie" that would unduly benefit from "guaranteed" programme commissions from the BBC. As part of the split, the BBC planned to tender its programmes, so that independent producers and BBC Studios could bid for the rights to produce its non-news programming, outside of top shows (such as Doctor Who ) assigned to BBC Studios. The re-organisation and formation of BBC Studios as
5335-404: The forms of macroscopic structures such as organs and organ systems. It focuses on how organs and organ systems work together in the bodies of humans and other animals, in addition to how they work independently. Anatomy and cell biology are two studies that are closely related, and can be categorized under "structural" studies. Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in
5432-431: The foundations for biogeography , ecology and ethology . Naturalists began to reject essentialism and consider the importance of extinction and the mutability of species . These developments, as well as the results from embryology and paleontology , were synthesized in the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution by natural selection ; in this Darwin placed the theory of organic evolution on
5529-425: The globe. The NHU has also diversified into other programme formats. Its Diary series have featured African big cats , elephants , orang-utans and bears in a nightly wildlife soap opera . Among of the longest-running programmes has been Wildlife on One (1977–2005) which was broadcast in a regular evening slot. The Continents strand on BBC Two has featured series on all the world's major land areas over
5626-411: The idea. Attenborough was receptive, even to the idea that he should present the series, but both men realised at that time that it was beyond the scope of the Unit's capabilities. When Attenborough resigned from his administrative duties to return to programme making at the start of 1973, planning for the proposed series resumed. It was another three years before the resourcing and financing were agreed,
5723-418: The independent sector in 2018/2019. The company is on track to meet its five-year target of returning £1.2bn to the BBC by 2021/2022. BBC Studios has committed to growing this total by a further 30% to a new target of £1.5bn in the five years from 2022/2023. BBC Studios Ltd. as a production company was first registered on 27 February 2015. In September 2015, the BBC's general director Tony Hall announced
5820-476: The interactions of molecules in their own right such as in cell biology and developmental biology , or indirectly, where molecular techniques are used to infer historical attributes of populations or species , as in fields in evolutionary biology such as population genetics and phylogenetics . There is also a long tradition of studying biomolecules "from the ground up", or molecularly, in biophysics . Animals generally reproduce by sexual reproduction ,
5917-404: The largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sex can produce fertile offspring; about 1.5 million species of animal have been described and it has been estimated that as many as 8 million animal species may exist. An early necessity was to identify the organisms and group them according to their characteristics, differences and relationships, and this is the field of
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#17327758590156014-831: The natural history of the animals they saw around them, and used this knowledge to domesticate certain species, the formal study of zoology can be said to have originated with Aristotle . He viewed animals as living organisms, studied their structure and development, and considered their adaptations to their surroundings and the function of their parts. Modern zoology has its origins during the Renaissance and early modern period, with Carl Linnaeus , Antonie van Leeuwenhoek , Robert Hooke , Charles Darwin , Gregor Mendel and many others. The study of animals has largely moved on to deal with form and function, adaptations, relationships between groups, behaviour and ecology. Zoology has increasingly been subdivided into disciplines such as classification , physiology , biochemistry and evolution . With
6111-429: The outline episode scripts written (by Attenborough) and a production team in place. Parsons would serve as series producer and share production duties for the individual episodes with Richard Brock and John Sparks . Filming took place in 39 countries, featured over 650 different species and involved over 1 million miles of travel. Attenborough himself has said that if it had not been for computerised airline schedules,
6208-666: The past 44 years to broadcasting about the natural world". It was praised for being "a national resource for people's understanding and love of wildlife on our planet, and a symbol of both quality and talent in public service broadcasting". NHU filmmakers are regularly nominated and rewarded at film festivals such as Wildscreen , the Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and their output has been recognised by
6305-451: The past eighteen years, including Spirits of the Jaguar (1996), Land of the Tiger (1997), Andes to Amazon (2000) and Wild Down Under (2003). Also on BBC Two, the annual Springwatch (since 2005) and Autumnwatch (since 2006) series have brought live pictures of British wildlife into millions of homes. In 2007, the Unit celebrated its 50th anniversary and was rewarded with
6402-514: The potential of taking British children's content to the wider global market, along with BBC Three 's in-house production team, which is joining from April 2021. BBC News and BBC Radio remain separate internal production divisions in the BBC, and the rest of the former BBC Television division (channels and genre commissioning, including BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer ) are part of the BBC Content division. The BBC Studios production division
6499-517: The processes by which animals and plants reproduce and grow. The discipline includes the study of embryonic development , cellular differentiation , regeneration , asexual and sexual reproduction , metamorphosis , and the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult organism. Development of both animals and plants is further considered in the articles on evolution , population genetics , heredity , genetic variability , Mendelian inheritance , and reproduction . Evolutionary biology
6596-505: The production and sales of its programming within one unit, it would improve efficiency and be in line with the "global norms" of other major international media companies. Technically, BBC Ventures Group Ltd. was renamed BBC Studios Group Ltd. on 3 April 2018, and then BBC Studios Ltd. 1 October 2018; also in October, the production company established in 2015 was renamed BBC Studios Productions Ltd., and so did BBC Worldwide Ltd. , which
6693-533: The public service BBC News operation will assume editorial control of the channel. More recently, the studio had set up a development deal with EbonyLife Media, which was affiliated with Sony Pictures Television , headed by Mo Abudu . In August 2022, it was revealed that BBC Studios planned to launch an international newsletter business, initially focusing on Canada and the US, the BBC's second largest non-UK news market behind India. In June 2023, BBC Studios announced
6790-493: The questions regarding the mechanisms of genetic inheritance and the structure of the gene . In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick described the structure of DNA and the interactions within the molecule, and this publication jump-started research into molecular biology and increased interest in the subject. While researchers practice techniques specific to molecular biology, it is common to combine these with methods from genetics and biochemistry . Much of molecular biology
6887-535: The remaining stake in the indie outfit and placed Firebird under their subsidiaries. In April 2019, BBC Studios announced various agreements with Discovery, Inc. ; the companies agreed to break apart their UKTV joint venture, with Discovery (which had acquired a stake in UKTV after its purchase of Scripps Networks Interactive ) acquiring the BBC's stake in UKTV's lifestyle channels, and BBC Studios likewise acquiring Discovery's stakes in UKTV's entertainment channels and
6984-527: The responsibility of the Features office of the West Region. One of the first programmes was an outside broadcast from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust 's centre at Slimbridge in 1953, the first TV collaboration between the BBC and Peter Scott . Occasional programmes continued the following year, but it was not until 1955 that the BBC began a regular studio-based series, Look , presented by Scott. One of
7081-494: The results of his own investigations. His general approach was surprisingly modern, and he wrote, "For it is [the task] of natural science not simply to accept what we are told but to inquire into the causes of natural things." An early pioneer was Conrad Gessner , whose monumental 4,500-page encyclopedia of animals, Historia animalium , was published in four volumes between 1551 and 1558. In Europe, Galen's work on anatomy remained largely unsurpassed and unchallenged up until
7178-503: The rise of the germ theory of disease , though the mechanism of inheritance remained a mystery. In the early 20th century, the rediscovery of Mendel's work led to the rapid development of genetics , and by the 1930s the combination of population genetics and natural selection in the modern synthesis created evolutionary biology . Research in cell biology is interconnected to other fields such as genetics, biochemistry , medical microbiology , immunology , and cytochemistry . With
7275-402: The same time, the technology to broadcast and receive colour television was being developed, and the BBC made funds available to begin filming in colour to allow filmmakers to experiment with the latest equipment in preparation for the switchover. The Major (1963), produced by Parsons and filmed largely by New Forest cameraman Eric Ashby, told the story of an ancient English oak and was
7372-515: The series would have probably been impossible to undertake. When it was finally broadcast in 1979 on BBC 1 , Life on Earth drew an audience of 15 million people in the UK and was eventually seen by an estimated 500 million people worldwide. The Natural History Unit made its name with Life on Earth , and was rewarded by being awarded departmental status by BBC management in December 1979. Christopher Parsons, by then its most experienced producer, became
7469-499: The structures and mechanisms specific to those groups. The rest of the animal kingdom is dealt with by invertebrate zoology , a vast and very diverse group of animals that includes sponges , echinoderms , tunicates , worms , molluscs , arthropods and many other phyla , but single-celled organisms or protists are not usually included. Cell biology studies the structural and physiological properties of cells , including their behavior , interactions, and environment . This
7566-417: The studio-based series To Bafut for Beef (April 1958), using African footage shot by Durrell. In the early 1960s, natural history filmmaking was being held back by the limitations of the available technology, particularly the restrictions of shooting often fast-moving subjects in poor light and spectacularly colourful subjects in black and white. The second of these problems was about to be resolved. Around
7663-529: The study of anatomy stultified. During the post-classical era , Middle Eastern science and medicine was the most advanced in the world, integrating concepts from Ancient Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia and Persia as well as the ancient Indian tradition of Ayurveda , while making numerous advances and innovations. In the 13th century, Albertus Magnus produced commentaries and paraphrases of all Aristotle's works; his books on topics like botany , zoology, and minerals included information from ancient sources, but also
7760-569: The study of animal life is ancient, its scientific incarnation is relatively modern. This mirrors the transition from natural history to biology at the start of the 19th century. Since Hunter and Cuvier , comparative anatomical study has been associated with morphography , shaping the modern areas of zoological investigation: anatomy , physiology , histology , embryology , teratology and ethology . Modern zoology first arose in German and British universities. In Britain, Thomas Henry Huxley
7857-446: The tendering plan, stating that it would tender at least 40% of the "in-house guarantee" within two years of approval of the transition. The BBC Trust subsequently approved the creation of BBC Studios as a commercial subsidiary, with the process expected to be completed in April 2017. On 29 November 2017, the BBC announced that BBC Worldwide would be merged into BBC Studios effective 1 April 2018. The BBC stated that by handling both
7954-509: The time, radio still commanded much higher audiences than the fledgling television service, but Hawkins was not alone in recognising the potential for natural history programmes for the newer medium. His vision was shared by Frank Gillard , the regional Head, and the two men would become the driving force behind the establishment of the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol. Until such formalities were completed, natural history programmes were
8051-433: The time. Darwin gave a new direction to morphology and physiology , by uniting them in a common biological theory: the theory of organic evolution. The result was a reconstruction of the classification of animals upon a genealogical basis, fresh investigation of the development of animals, and early attempts to determine their genetic relationships. The end of the 19th century saw the fall of spontaneous generation and
8148-514: The video on-demand service UKTV Play . In addition, Discovery announced a 10-year agreement with the BBC's Natural History Unit to acquire exclusive subscription video-on-demand rights to its content worldwide (which would be incorporated into a forthcoming global streaming brand ), and co-fund a development team. Discovery had previously served as the Natural History's Unit U.S. partner until 2013. In August 2019, BBC Studios announced
8245-526: The wider broadcasting industry too, winning four Emmys , eleven BAFTAs , and the Prix Italia on three occasions. Recognition has also come in the form of high audience viewing figures and audience approval ratings, particularly for 'blue-chip' series such as Planet Earth . When first screened in the UK it was watched by more than 8 million people. In 2008, episodes of Life in Cold Blood and
8342-494: The world illustrated mostly the animals hunted for food and the savage animals. The Neolithic Revolution , which is characterized by the domestication of animals , continued throughout Antiquity. Ancient knowledge of wildlife is illustrated by the realistic depictions of wild and domestic animals in the Near East, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, including husbandry practices and techniques, hunting and fishing. The invention of writing
8439-429: The world, returning around £ 200 million to the BBC annually in dividends and content investment. BBC Studios Productions brings together the majority of BBC Television 's former in-house production departments; Factual, Drama, Comedy (both combined as Scripted in the new division), Entertainment, and Music & Events. BBC Children's production is set to move into BBC Studios Productions from April 2022 to increase
8536-549: Was Faraway Look featuring Peter Scott in Australia . The early programmes were limited by the available technology, but it was also a time of great experimentation in style and content, bringing the Unit notable success. Animal Magic (1962–1983), presented by Johnny Morris and Tony Soper, was a successful format for young audiences which ran for over 20 years. The Unit also collaborated with Gerald Durrell on several films of his animal-collecting expeditions, beginning with
8633-501: Was Ron Eastman's The Private Life of the Kingfisher (1968), written and produced by Jeffery Boswall . Attenborough, by then controller of BBC 2, wanted to make a strong statement on BBC's second channel of the boundless possibilities that colour television offered, and recognised that natural history was the obvious subject matter to choose. He commissioned a series called The World About Us (1969–1982) that would broadcast in
8730-431: Was a division of the BBC founded in 1967 to commercially exploit the corporation's output for radio and television for both educational and domestic use. In the 1990s licensing and marketing of the BBC's recorded output become the responsibility of BBC Worldwide (formerly BBC Enterprises) , and the corporation ceased the direct release of recorded material, instead licensing its products to other companies. BBC Worldwide
8827-502: Was a prominent figure. His ideas were centered on the morphology of animals. Many consider him the greatest comparative anatomist of the latter half of the 19th century. Similar to Hunter , his courses were composed of lectures and laboratory practical classes in contrast to the previous format of lectures only. Scientific classification in zoology , is a method by which zoologists group and categorize organisms by biological type , such as genus or species . Biological classification
8924-457: Was formed in 2016 and launched as a commercial entity in 2017, enabling it to produce programming for other broadcasters and services to generate profit to return to the BBC to supplement licence fee income. In exchange, the BBC agreed to place production of much of its non-news programmes to tender , allowing third-party independents to compete with BBC Studios on bids to produce them. The merger of BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide in 2018, brought
9021-424: Was merged into BBC Studios from 2018, which now licenses the use of the BBC logo on commercial recordings. BritBox is an over-the-top subscription video on-demand brand, which includes original programming commissioned or acquired by the company, and third-party content licensed from other UK channels such as BBC , ITV , Channel 4 and Channel 5 . The service was announced by BBC Worldwide and ITV plc as
9118-582: Was placed in charge of the newly formed Travel and Exploration Unit , striking a deal which would allow him to continue to film his popular Zoo Quest (1954–1963) series alongside natural history output from the fledgling Bristol unit. The Travel and Exploration Unit in London also introduced viewers to more exotic wildlife, and made household names of the first natural history presenters. Armand and Michaela Denis filmed East African wildlife for their On Safari programmes, whilst another pioneering husband-and-wife team, Hans and Lotte Hass , created some of
9215-527: Was renamed BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. In February 2019, BBC Studios had announced that they've taken a 25% minority stake in the new independent drama production company founded by former BBC executives Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Craig Holleworth which was named Firebird Pictures and signed an international distribution deal to distribute Firebird's programmes. Three years later in October 2022, BBC Studios announce that they had taken full control of independent drama production label Firebird Pictures by acquiring
9312-486: Was separated into a commercial subsidiary BBC Studios . NHU head Wendy Darke departed and was succeeded by Julian Hector. Since its inception in the 1950s, the Natural History Unit has produced a wealth of material for television, radio, and more recently, cinema. Being the first and the largest production unit devoted to natural history programme making, it maintains an extensive archive of images and sound recordings as well as film materials. The filmography article presents
9409-430: Was to commission Civilisation (1969), a major series presented by the respected art historian Kenneth Clark . It was a resounding success with critics and the public, pioneering the 'personal view' form of documentary films for television. Parsons, by then an experienced producer with the NHU, recognised the potential for a similar treatment with natural history as the subject and approached Attenborough in 1970 with
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