Bravo aquires Starz’s Spartacus

UK pay TV broadcaster Bravo has acquired Starz Media’s gladiator drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

The Virgin Media-owned network has picked up the first two seasons of the 13x1hour series and will air it this summer. The show, which is produced by Spiderman and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi as well as Xena: Warrior Princess producer Rob Talpert and Buffy The Vampire Slayer producer Steven DeKnight, premiered on US cable network Starz in January and was commissioned for a second season before its TX date.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand stars Xena: Warrior Princess Lucy Lawless and Andy Whitfield centering around the bloody world of gladiators in the Roman Empire.

The show, which is distributed globally by Starz’s international sales arm, has already been sold to broadcasters including Canada’s TMN, Australia’s Seven Network and Holland’s RTL5.

The series has seen a gradual increase in ratings since its launch; its debut received 659,000 viewers with its viewership reaching over 1 million viewers for its sixth episode, a success given the channel’s limited reach.