Blue Ant, NatGeo, YLE and SRF licensed numerous titles from the ORF “Universum Nature” and ORF “Universum History” portfolios
ORF-Enterprise returned home from the 2022 edition of Mipcom reporting substantial sales of content made in Austria to buyers from all over the world.
“Even before the start of the fair, interest in ‘ORF Originals’ was gratifyingly high. This season proved once again that content from Austria is in demand worldwide. Attending Mipcom with fully booked calendars indicated the market’s continuing interest in our wide range of titles of different genres and reinforced our position as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for commissioners and buyers,” Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales International at ORF-Enterprise sums up in a press release.
On the occasion of its 35th anniversary, interest in the multiple award-winning nature and documentary films of the renowned “Universum” brand is particularly high, says the company.
SRF (Switzerland) opts for Qatar – Pearls in the Sand just in time for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as does global streaming provider Qalbox. Colombia – Wild and Free has been ordered by EBS in Korea and RSI in Switzerland.
National Geographic Channels (USA) and YLE (Finland) secures the rights for Ark of Stone – The Voyage of Sardinia. In addition, National Geographic Channels has also been striking deals for the blue-chip productions Lake Tanganyika – Africa’s Blue Heart and Austria’s Wild Heritage – One Country Six National Parks.
Blue Ant (USA) licensed a total of 14 ORF productions for its History Time and Love Nature streaming Channels, including numerous titles from the ORF “Universum Nature” and ORF “Universum History” portfolios, as well as the history title They Called Her Jamila – The Mystery of Stone Age Ba’ja which is also successfully placed with YLE. CT (Czech Republic) acquires a documentary package of several hours, as does the French broadcaster Histoire, which acquires three blue-chips from the ORF-“Universum History” catalog: Lost City of the Gladiators, Victims of the Vikings and The Great Wall.
ORF reports that its fiction catalog also continues to enjoy increasing demand. In particular, crime and comedy series with their unmistakable original appeal to audiences’ tastes. Sony AXN licenses another season of Fast Forward for Spain and Portugal. Discovery (Italy) and RTBF (Belgium) deliver crime from the Austrian Alps to their viewers’ screens, opting for several seasons of the hit series Soko Kitzbuehel.
ORF-Enterprise concludes an extensive deal with MHZ Networks (USA): soon, 19 Backwoods Crimes and 31 Austrian Tatort movies as well as three seasons of the ORF comedy Walking on Sunshine will be available to audiences in the USA and Canada. The series was also licensed by WDR (Germany) for the ARD channel ONE together with License to Clean.
