VIMN’s LatAm Division Ramps Up Production

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) – Americas has secured distribution deals for its original formats with SVOD, pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters through its expanded production and distribution division Viacom International Studios (VIS).

Viacom International Studios now encompasses Viacom’s Latin American original productions for global brands such as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, and hundreds of hours of original current and library content from Telefe and Porta dos Fundos. VIS is charged with the development, production and global distribution of the company’s combined portfolio of content.

Under the new distribution model, Viacom International Studios recently closed new deals. Fox Networks Latin America acquired the rights to Animal, Telefe’s latest cinematic production, for distribution on its multiple linear and non-linear viewing platforms across Spanish-speaking Latin America.

The Borges series, Viacom International Studios’ first co-production of a long-form series between Porta dos Fundos and Comedy Central, will be available to Netflix subscribers in Latin America. Caracol Televisión, meanwhile, signed a deal for the tween telenovela Vikki RPM. The 60-episode series will air in Colombia later this year.

Additionally, Viacom International Studios secured a co-production agreement between Nickelodeon and Rainbow in Italy for Club 57, a time-travel musical series that tells the story of a science-loving girl who accidentally travels back to 1957. Production will begin this summer on the first 60 hour-long episodes, and under the terms of the deal, Rainbow will retain rights for Italy and represent the property for consumer products worldwide, while Viacom International Studios will handle distribution for the rest of the world.

Aside from producing for the company’s own brands, Viacom International Studios produces content for third parties. Viacom International Studios is actively developing and producing a new slate of programming that will be presented at the L.A. Screenings on Friday, May 18. In addition, after joining its sales forces last year, VIMN Americas has increased the global distribution of Telefe and Porta dos Fundos original productions and formats.

“Since combining our production and sales forces last year after the acquisitions of Telefe and Porta dos Fundos, our focus has been on creating the highest-quality Spanis- and Portuguese-language content and expanding our distribution beyond Latin America, making the new Viacom International Studios a true global player in Latin American original content,” commented Pierluigi Gazzolo, the president of VIMN Americas. “With more than a decade of producing original, hit content for the Viacom brands, and expertise and content delivered through our acquisition of Telefe and investment in Porta dos Fundos, we are growing the reach of our product and client base with SVOD players, MVPDs and broadcast partners around the world. These partnerships are testament to the power of our brands and strength of our original productions.”