ALL3MEDIA Scores New Central European Deals

LONDON, June 19: ALL3MEDIA
International has licensed a range of dramas into Central and Eastern Europe
for broadcast and home-entertainment distribution, including Midsomer
Murders.

Several of the deals were
finalized at DISCOP. The thrillers He Kills Coppers and Cape Wrath, produced by Ecosse Films, have been picked up by HRT Croatia and
Proxima in Bulgaria, respectively. HRT Croatia also acquired Midsomer
Murders, produced by Bentley
Productions, and The Palace, a
fictional take on life as a royal in modern times, along with the third season
of Wild at Heart, which
continues the story of Danny Trevanion, a vet that relocated to the African
Bush to run a game park. Both The Palace and Wild at Heart are
from Company Pictures. Bentley and Company Pictures are sister companies to
ALL3MEDIA International.

In addition to Cape
Wrath, Proxima bagged the rights
to the comedic drama Bonkers,
produced by ALL3MEDIA’s Lime Pictures. Midsomer Murders also scored
new-season and previous-season renewals with LNK Lithuania, POP TV in Slovenia
and with Studio Printel in Poland for DVD. Wild at Heart was licensed to POPTV as well.

In Estonia, pay-TV station
Neljas acquired the rights for South Pacific Pictures’ comedic drama Outrageous
Fortune, as well as Skins and The Palace. Rounding out the deals is Fox in Poland acquiring Company Pictures’ Talk
to Me, which also received a pick
up by RTV Slovenia, along with Torn
and Lilies.

“The whole region is
undergoing a strong period of growth at the moment, in both the broadcast
sector and production,” said Stephen Driscoll, the VP of international sales at
ALL3MEDIA International. “The growth in channels across the region means that
we have more slots to sell programming to and the increase in local production
has created more demand for formats and drama reversioning.”

—By Irene Lew