Sky Vision Adds to Acquisitions Team, Signs Round of Distribution Deals

LONDON: Sky Vision has hired Alex Fraser as its new head of acquisitions for scripted, entertainment and North America, coming as the company clinched its first round of distribution deals with the U.S. networks Discovery Channel and TLC as well as the U.K.'s BBC.

Fraser was formerly the VP of sales and acquisitions at IMG.

At MIPCOM, Sky Vision is launching 23 hours of content from Discovery Channel and TLC in the U.S. Titles include Spawn of Jaws, Return of Jaws and Sharkpocalypse as well as the character-driven series Wedding Island and The Good Buy Girls.

Sky Vision is also distributing the World War I doc Pipers of the Trenches, produced by the BBC. Also among Sky Vision's doc slate is a package of content featuring the legendary William Shatner. These include The Captains, in which Shatner interviews the actors who have played the captains on Star Trek over the years; Still Kicking, a special interview conducted by  Shatner with Christopher Plummer; and Wackydoodle, which takes a look at the early years of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There's also Get a Life, which shows Shatner taking a lighthearted look at extreme fandom.

Connie Hodson, the commercial director at Sky Vision, commented: “We are very pleased to be representing new titles from Discovery and the BBC and, of course, to be working with the legend that is William Shatner! It’s also great to have Alex join us at such an exciting time in our evolution. His superior knowledge of the international market makes him an ideal fit in our rapidly expanding team. I look forward to working with him to build an even more impressive catalogue of high quality content for our clients worldwide.”