Warner Home Video has entered into an agreement with BBC Worldwide Americas for distribution of the BBC Video label, which has so far been distributed in the US through CBS/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Effective July 1, Warner Home Video has the rights to the entire BBC Video catalog on that date, with the exception of the acclaimed production “Walking With Dinosaurs,” which aired on the Discovery Channel in April, and will be distributed through Fox until August 31, after which the program will also fall to Warner.

This deal gives Warner access to popular BBC properties, such as the Oscar-winning “Wallace and Gromit” and the British comedy “Absolutely Fabulous” among countless others.

The move from Fox, who owned these rights for the last 15 years, to Warner is not a result of fallout with Fox, but with a complete change in structure of BBC’s distribtuion plans, which includes taking a stronger function in the marketing of these titles. As a result the company will hire additional staff for their New York office to support these releases. BBC’s catalog has significantly expanded in the last five years from 100 to 350 titles, and the company is plannign for some more growth in the near future in the creation of family brands.