Cineflix Lands Deals in Italy

LONDON: Cineflix International Distribution has sold 69 hours of factual content to the Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset to air on Italia 1 and Italia 2.

It is Cineflix International’s largest-ever deal with an Italian broadcaster.

The titles Mediaset picked up include the 20×1-hour Weird Or What?, hosted by actor William Shatner as he searches for scientific explanations to unexplained mysteries and phenomena; the 8×1-hour Paradise Lost, featuring tales of travels gone wrong; and the 8×1-hour Murder She Solved: True Crime, about female law-enforcement officers. Mediaset also opted for Cooler Facts (6×30-minutes/38×3-minutes), a journey into the science behind our natural world; the third season of the trivia series Urban Legends; season one of the teen diva series Princess; and all three seasons of the 39×30-minute Bulging Brides, a weight-loss program.

“We are always hunting down new talents in the factual world to feed our channels with new ideas and new ways of approaching the documentary subject,” said Daniela Bagliani, the factual acquisitions and co-productions manager for Mediaset. “Long ago, when its catalogue was launched on the market, we decided that Cineflix was a company we could trust completely in this respect. The content it offered, and continues to offer, is both edgy and quality-oriented and thus really suits our channels’ needs—especially those of Italia One, which is always looking for new challenges to satisfy the ever-changing taste of its audience. Italia One and Cineflix have something in common: they are not only up-to-date, but they also create new ways of enjoying TV viewing.”

Sabrina Ayala, the VP of sales and acquisitions for Latin America, Iberia and Italy at Cineflix International, who brokered the deal, commented: “Mediaset’s decision to extend our relationship with this significant volume deal is a huge vote of confidence in the quality and relevance of our programming to its audiences. It’s such a pleasure to be working with one of the most dynamic broadcasters in Italy, and we look forward to an ever brighter future together.”