HBO wins battle for IMG Ali doc

US cable network HBO has inked a deal with UK distributor IMG to acquire Mohammed Ali documentary Thriller in Manilla. 

It has picked up the 1x86mins doc, which was produced by IMG-owned production company Darlow Smithson Productions for Channel 4. 

The show tells the story of the famous boxing match between rivals Joe Frazier and Ali as well as the historic build up. Contributors include Frazier, Ali’s fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco as well as members of the Nation of Islam. 
Mark Young, SVP, entertainment sales and acquisitons worldwide, told TBIvision that factual content such as this travels particularly well internationally.
The distributor has also inked a deal with factual producer Nugus Martin to distribute a series of World War II in Colour documentaries, which takes archive war footage and turns into HD quality.
It has also closed a deal with French broadcaster France 2 for its BBC factual series The Diary of Anne Frank.    

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