Deals round-up: Back2Back gets wedding & shipping orders; BBCS’s first format deal in Lithuania; Banijay goes shopping

Mega Shippers

Back2Back’s wedding show sells to Seven, Mega Shippers extended

Australia’s Seven Network has ordered a new eight-part factual series from UK prodco back2back Productions, in a deal brokered by UK sales and co-production agency Drive.

Outrageous Weddings uses clips and professional videographer wedding footage to explore comical and catastrophic weddings, with Passion Distribution selling globally.

The Brighton-based production company has also booked an order from Quest in the UK and Discovery Germany for a third season of its exclusive-access series Mega Shippers, taking the total number of hours to be delivered over the next 12 months to 79.

The show reveals the complex inner workings of some of the world’s busiest road, rail, air and sea ports, and meets the people who keep Europe moving. It is due to be delivered in the second quarter of 2020 and is being distributed by Hat Trick International.

BBC Studios dances into Lithuania

Dancing with the Stars

BBC Studios has struck its first format sale in Lithuania after agreeing a deal for a local version of hit entertainment show Dancing With The Stars.

Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) will air the 12-part series, which will be produced in-house by the public broadcaster this autumn.

The agreement with LRT marks the 58th local production of the format, which sees local celebrities partner with professional dancers to learn a variety of ballroom routines in a bid to impress judges, a live studio audience and viewers at home.

Banijay strikes Shopping Night deal, sells Porn Laid Bare

Discovery Italia has picked up a new series of Shopping Night from Banijay Group-owned prodco Magnolia, which will air on the factual broadcaster’s Real Time channel.

Shopping Night

The show will debut September 19 and features three contestants attempting to impress fashion experts with their shopping exploits. The finished tape and format are distributed by Banijay Rights, which has also struck a raft of sales for shows including Porn Laid Bare.

SBS in Australia, YLE in Finland, OUTtv in Canada and TV2 Norway are all among buyers of the BBC factual series, which goes behind the scenes of the adult film industry. It is from The Connected Set for BBC Three and has also been picked up by Cielo TV in Italy, Kanal 2 in Estonia and Polsat in Poland.

Meanwhile, Stacey Dooley: Face to Face With The Arms Dealers, from Zig Zag Production, has been picked up by SBS, SVT in Sweden, YLE, NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark, Canal+ Dokument in Poland and BBC Brit for Africa. RTL in Luxembourg and the Netherlands is also onboard.

Other Banijay deals have seen the first two seasons of Young And Pretty Minted, from Welsh production company Wales & Co, sold to TV2 in Denmark and TVN in Poland, while Abused By My Girlfriend, by Century Films, has been sold to Nine Network in Oz, DR and RTL in Germany. RTS in Switzerland, Discovery in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, and Foxtel in Australia, have also taken rights.

Drive secures Good Nazi sales

The Good Nazi

UKTV in the UK, ZDF Info in Germany and Planète+ in France have picked up documentary film The Good Nazi from financier and distributor Drive.

The show, which explores the exploits of Nazi officer Major Karl Plagge who risked his life to save thousands of Jews, will also air on RTI – Mediaset in Italy, LRT in Lithuania, Foxtel and Viasat World for CEE and Scandinavia. The film was produced by Associated Producers in Canada for Vision TV.

Meanwhile, Discovery-owned channel DMAX in Germany, TV4 in Sweden and TVNZ in New Zealand have all acquired the first season of Warship: Life At Sea, produced by UK-based Artlab Films for Channel 5 in the UK.

The observational docuseries was filmed over seven months and follows the 280-strong crew on board warship HMS Duncan. DMAX has also pre-bought a second season of the show, which was recently re-commissioned by Channel 5.

Drive has also sold World’s Worst Flights to Fox Networks Group in Poland, TV2 in Norway, RTL in The Netherlands, Hubu Media in China, Discovery Turkey, TV2 in Denmark, TVNZ in New Zealand and Nippon TV in Japan.

DCD unveils Crackle & CBC sales, MIPCOM slate

The Secrets She Keeps

US streamer Crackle and CBC in Canada have picked up drama On The Ropes from UK-based distributor DCD Rights.

The show, from Lingo Pictures Production for SBS in Australia, has also been acquired by Rialto Channel in New Zealand, along with DCD’s drama Inspector Rojas: In Cold Blood. The thriller, from Villano Production for Mega, has been picked up by SBS as well.

Other DCD deals have seen Closer Productions’ drama The Hunting picked up by Channel 5 in the UK, Sky New Zealand, RTE in Ireland, CBC, IVI in Russia and NPO in the Netherlands.

The distributor is also prepping new dramas for MIPCOM, which include: The Secrets She Keeps, a thriller from Lingo Pictures for Network Ten; murder drama Dry Water; and the distributor’s first short-form scfripted series Find My Killer, by Screentime NZ for TVNZ OnDemand.

Nicky Davies Williams, CEO at DCD Rights, said: “It is fantastic to be approaching MIPCOM with such a solid raft of sales confirmed for our recently launched titles. We are delighted, although not surprised, that they were so well received, and we are very much looking forward to introducing our brand-new slate of dramas to international broadcasters in Cannes this October.”