ORF-Enterprise Content Picked Up Globally

During the four days of the MIPCOM market, highlights from ORF-Enterprise’s lineup were selected to hit screens around the world.

At the ORF Apéro event, guests were given exclusive insights into the new series School of Champions, which will premiere in early 2024; the very first clips from Kafka, scheduled to be aired in summer 2024; and the showcase also included brand-new ORF Universum nature and history documentaries.

Drama content from the company expanded its reach across Europe. TV2 secured a package of five Tatort TV movies, and Discovery (Italy) also licensed over 20 movies of the long-running crime strand. ARD One secured several seasons of the dramedy series Suburbia—Women on the Edge, while LRT (Lithuania) opted for several seasons of the flagship ORF Original Crime series Fast Forward.

Sandro Sgrulloni, programming and content acquisition senior manager at Warner Bros. Discovery Italia, said: “We had the privilege to bring to Italy–with great success in terms of TV ratings–the cycle of the popular series of movies set in the beautiful and historic Austrian capital. And we’re very happy to have licensed, as a first run, other six new movies with the odd and funny couple of detectives Moritz Eisner and Bibi Fellner which is so loved by our audience.”

Lars Erik Nielsen, acquisitions executive at TV2 Denmark, added: “I am very happy to be picking up the new Tatort movies. I have been buying this great franchise for years, and they work very well for us at TV2 with their well told and relevant crime stories and not at least the unique partnership between Adele Neuhauser and Harald Krassnitzer that radiates through the screen in every movie.”

SBS (Australia) picked up Duel of the Crown Princes—Rudolf of Austria and William of Prussia. Italy’s Rai also took that title, along with Lake Tanganyika—Africa’s Blue Heart. Justica TV (Mexico) picked the concert event Christmas in Vienna 2022. KTO (France) took Sound of Winter: The Christmas Oratorio. YLE (Finland) snagged the history doc The Last Emperor – Charles I of Austria as well as wildlife and nature documentaries The Return of the Aurochs and High Life in the Dead Mountains.

ORF’s blue-chip strand Universum Nature also sold. Leopard Legacy and Wild Austria—Created by Water were taken by RTVE. RTBF (Belgium) picked up Ark of Stone—The Voyage of Sardinia and Feathered Friends. CBC in Canada is set to broadcast The Raven’s Tale—Mystic Czechia and Water of Life—Wilderness, Whisky, Highlands.

HRT (Croatia) is set to show Austria’s World Heritage—Monuments, Masterpieces and Magnificent Nature, Austria—Land of Lakes and Castles, Mansions and Estates in the Alps-Adriatic Area. China’s CCTV is sewt to bring Life on the Wing—Miracle of Bird Migration to its audiences.

Oliver Böhm, managing director of ORF-Enterprise, commented: “ORF-Enterprise is proud to serve as a reliable content supplier to partners worldwide. In addition to ORF’s Universum documentaries, fictional ORF originals also enjoy an outstanding reputation. High-quality, public-service ORF content helps our long-term partners diversify their programming. This differentiation through uniquely premium content is an essential asset in a competitive market.”

Armin Luttenberger, head of content sales international at ORF-Enterprise, said: “We are very pleased with the high demand across all genres. Thanks to the year-long partnerships with broadcasters and platforms from all over the world, ORF-Enterprise continues its commitment to serve as a one-stop-shop for high quality content with an extensive catalog. While blue-chip factual content has always been a pillar of our repertoire, the fictional ORF Originals have proven to be a guaranteeing factor for best ratings from audiences around the globe.”