19/11/2009
Outright Distribution has reported new acquisitions and a host of deals for its 3rd party programming, focussed on its representation agreements with top UK indies, KEO films, Touch Productions and Flame TV.
In 2008, Outright signed a year long 1st look distribution deal with KEO films which has recently been renewed for a further 12 months, bringing with it three new key properties to add to the rich Outright slate.
First up is When the Amish Met the English (working title), a 4 x 60’ series for Channel 4 which will be broadcast in the New Year. The series is about a young group of Amish who leave their closed community to experience 'Rumspringa' - a period when as teenagers, they can explore the outside world. The show aims to throw up as many cultural observations about the hosts as it does about their foreign visitors.
Then comes the 3 x 60’ Megacity for BBC 2 where we take a trip to the slums of Lagos, the fastest growing megacity in the world. Through strong individual human narratives, Megacityshows that slums are vital, energetic, aspirational places, home to some of the most resourceful, resilient and creative people on the planet.
Finally from KEO is 3 Hungry Boys a 9 x 30'series for Channel 4 that features 3 young, strapping marine biologists who have to live off the land / sea for a month in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland.
Further to these new acquisitions, Outright Distribution has been bringing home the bacon for its producer suppliers with multiple cross territory deals.
Back with KEO films, its River Cottage franchise will be tickling taste buds down under with deals to Sky in New Zealand, XYZ in Australia and ABC in Australia. Cuisine TV in France has also bagged the series along with AFC, Singapore and BBC Global Channels for its footprints in Poland.
Outright also has an exclusive distribution relationship with Touch Productions, extending back over 2 years. Deals on Touch properties include the 4 x 60’ series Body in Numbers which was produced originally for Discovery Health US and Virgin Media Television in the UK and has secured a range of diverse homes being sold to Noga in Israel, Ceska in Czech Republic, Sky in New Zealand and LIC in China.
Also from Touch for Investigation Discovery, US is the 6 x 60’ Dallas DNA a show with exclusive and unprecedented access inside the Dallas DA’s office, which tells the story of a pioneering unit who are determined to right past wrongs. This show has been snapped up by Noga in Israel, Turner Latin America and in Scandinavia to Viasat’s TV8 in Sweden and to JIM (part of Nelonen channel group) in Finland.
Finally, out of Outright's exclusive relationship with Flame TV in 2007/08, JIM also took World of Stupid Criminals along with Sky in New Zealand.
Sales have also come in for Flame’s one hour long special Dickens' Secret Lover, made for Channel 4. This is the tale of how Charles Dickens abandoned his wife and was having a torrid and desperately secret affair with Nelly Ternan, an 18 year old actress young enough to be his daughter whilst being probably the most famous Englishman and bestselling English author of all time.
LaLa TV in Japan, DR in Denmark and Viasat Pay TV for Scandinavia and CEE have all bought the show.