MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has made inroads into the co-production arena in Italy through an agreement with broadcaster Mediaset for the docu-drama Supervolcano.
 

It is the largest co-production deal the commercial consumer arm of the BBC has ever signed with an Italian co-producer for a non-fiction programme and the first one with Mediaset. In additition to Mediaset, ProSieben and the Discovery Channel are also co-producers for this dramatised account of an apocalyptic volcanic eruption that will happen one day.

The reality-based thriller exploring the impact of the eruption of a giant supervolcano that is actually simmering beneath American Yellowstone Park. The docu-drama will play an important role in Mediaset's plans to develop Rete 4 along a strategy based on events programming.

BBC Worldwide's commercial director India, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Anita Davison, commented: "We see the agreement with Mediaset for Supervolcano as the first major step to grow our co-production business in Italy. Mediaset is a perfect fit for Supervolcano and represents a promising intensification of the partnership we have had with them for a long time."