Dr. Oz prescribes first Farsi deal for Sony

Sony Pictures Television has licensed 344 episodes of US talk show the Dr. Oz Show to a Farsi-language broadcaster.

The deal with Broadcast Middle East represents the first time SPT has done a deal with a Farsi-lanuage TV group. Dr. Oz will air on Moby Group-owned BME’s FARSI1 channel, dubbed for local audiences.

The Dr. Oz Show is in its sixth season in the US, and is hosted by surgeon Mehmet Oz. It focuses on health, wellbeing and lifestyle issues, and is coproduced by SPT and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.

SPT has sold to more than 118 territories since 2009. Channels in Thailand and Czech Republic unveiled local remakes in May.

FARSI1, meanwhile, already broadcasts The Oprah Winfrey Show, which Dr. Oz spun out of after Oz appeared in a sigement.

FARSI1 general manager Sina Valiollah said: “After the success of The Oprah Winfrey Show on FARSI1, we are introducing The Dr. Oz Show, a highly informative talk show, where one of the most well-known surgeons in the world gives his viewers priceless health related and medical tips. We hope that this new FARSI1 show will help our viewers to get a better and healthier lifestyle.”

“The Dr. Oz Show is a global sensation that continues to strike a chord with audiences around the world, tapping into the universal desire to lead healthier, happier lives,” said Damian Newton, senior vice president, distribution for SPT, central Europe and the Middle East, Greece, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus.

The deal comes soon after Middle Eastern broadcaster MBC acquired SPT-sold drama El Mariachi. It also comes after SPT scaled back its production assets in the region, a move exclusively revealed by TBI.