Discovery & Walter Presents launch drama service in Italy

Channel 4’s VOD service for foreign-language drama, Walter Presents, will be teaming up with Discovery Italia, to deliver its dramas to the territory.

Italian audiences will receive the service from September 2018, joining UK, US and Australian services.

Discovery Italia will feature Walter Presents dramas, with subtitles, through its Dplay service, where audiences can watch titles on demand. Dedicated slots for Walter Presents titles will also be aired on its channels Nove and Giallo.

Series for the forthcoming Italian launch will include French political thriller Spin, The Adulterer from the Netherlands and French cop show Spiral.

The Italian arm of Discovery has stated that it aims to host over 500 hours of foreign-language drama across two years.

Marinella Soldi, chief strategy officer at Discovery EMEA & managing director at Discovery Networks Southern Europe, said: “Partnering with Walter Presents is another bold move which is typical of our success in this business: anticipating consumer trends and applying successful and creative models from other countries.

“Our aim is to replicate and build upon the phenomenal success the service has enjoyed in the UK with Channel 4. It’s an innovative model which perfectly converges linear and VOD to create a sweet spot for viewers and broadcasters alike.”

Walter Iuzzolino (pictured), co-founder and curator of Walter Presents added: “Discovery Italia has an impressive track record and has proven to be an astute, decisive and successful group of channels – I couldn’t hope for a better partner to embark on this drama adventure together.

“As an Italian, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time – it’s a personal dream come true for me and I can’t wait to get started.”