Drive revs up first market slate

Newbie distributor Drive Media Rights will launch a commemorative Star Trek special and an extreme weather series at MIPCOM, its first market since forming last month.

Drive started as a boutique funding and copro consultancy, and has now moved into programme sales, with former Zodiak sales exec Laura Masson at the helm.

Its first slate includes Building Star Trek, which looks at the iconic sci fi show as it celebrates its 50^th anniversary. It was made by Yap Films for Smithsonian Channel and Discovery Canada, an SBS inAustralia and Germany’s ZDF are prebuyers.

Also on the slate is The World’s Deadliest Weather: Caught on Camera, which comes from UK indie Back2Back and runs to 26x30mins.

Drive helped secure finance and presales for both of the abovementioned shows.

For MIPCOM it also has WW2 submarine battle series Hell Below. The six-parter was produced by Parallax Film Productions and commissioned by Smithsonian Channel and National Geographic Channels International.

“It’s very exciting to be going to MIPCOM with a distribution slate of completed programmes, much of which comprises series and specials for which we have also secured the primary production funding” said Drive co-founder Lilla Hurst.

“We look forward to showcasing our distribution offering with international broadcasters at the market”.

Drive cofounders Lilla Hurst and Ben Barrett have previously run distribution businesses, the former was formerly MD of TVF and the latter ran extreme sports and adventure distribution business Extreme International.