A+E Networks Clinches New Slots for Roots

NEW YORK: Launched to the global market at MIPTV, Roots has notched up a slate of new broadcast partners, with A+E Networks inking deals with the BBC, DBS YES and iflix, among others.

Other new platforms for the event drama include FTA Numero 23 in France and ShowMax across Africa. They join previously announced broadcasters such as SBS Australia, TVNZ, Thai PBS in Thailand, Spain’s ATRESMEDIA, HBO Europe, RTL in the Netherlands, Crave in Canada and HISTORY in Japan, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and Africa. The show has now racked up a presence in 220 territories.

Joel Denton, the managing director of international content sales and partnerships at A+E Networks, noted, “The remarkable sales momentum we established at MIPTV endures. Our mounting sales further validate our belief that ambitious creative efforts, premium storytelling and betting on projects like this one will continue to gain partners. Broadcasting in 42 languages is a testament to the truly universal appeal of this epic miniseries.”

Roots is based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel, which had previously been turned into a landmark 1977 miniseries on ABC. In the U.S. it was commissioned by HISTORY and simulcast on sister networks A&E and Lifetime in May, reaching more than 53 million total viewers across all telecasts.