Banijay Rights Sells Thomas Markle Doc into LatAm

Banijay Rights has sold the documentary Thomas Markle: My Story to OnDIRECTV Latin America in addition to a number of other international broadcasters.

The pay-TV provider will broadcast the doc in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela through its OnDIRECTV channel. Thomas Markle: My Story, which first broadcast on the U.K.’s Channel 5, previously sold to Movistar+ in Spain, RTL and VTM in Belgium, yes and Channel 8 in Israel, New Zealand’s TVNZ, Discovery Nordics and Virgin Media in Ireland.

From Alaska TV, Thomas Markle: My Story offers up-to-the-minute, first-person insight into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step down from royal duties. In the 90-minute doc, a never-before-seen archive of stills and videos of Meghan Markle are featured as her father shares his side of the story.

Elliott Chalkley, VP of sales at Banijay Rights, said: “The documentary created a great buzz at NATPE Miami and we are thrilled to see how quickly that has translated into sales. Thomas Markle: My Story is an important record, portrayed in a sensitive manner by an award-winning creative team. Our partners at DIRECTV recognized this immediately and we are hugely proud to be instrumental in giving it the global exposure it deserves.”

Willard Tressel, general manager of OnDIRECTV, added: “The decision by Harry and Meghan to step down from royal duties is one of the big headlines of 2020. Thomas Markle: My Story made headlines on its own and added a wholly different perspective to the story our Latin American audience is fascinated by.”