FilmRise strikes AVOD, SVOD deal with NENT Studios, incl ‘Doc Martin’

Doc Martin

US-based distributor and AVOD operator FilmRise has struck a 500-hour deal for shows including long-running drama Doc Martin with NENT Studios UK.

FilmRise has taken exclusive ad-supported rights to the first five-seasons of Doc Martin, with the wider deal covering all digital rights, including AVOD and SVOD, for both North and South America.

Other programmes in the package include comedies Peep Show and Black Books, the original British version of Shameless.

Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise, said the partnership represents the company’s “expanding business as a licensing and distribution partner with global entertainment studios.”

Scott Kirkpatrick, SVP of North America of NENT Studios UK, added: “We have done an abundance of successful business with FilmRise under the DRG banner. Now we are excited to grow this business in various ways with FilmRise as part of the larger NENT Group.”

The deal was negotiated by Whitney Muroff, director of acquisitions & co-productions at FilmRise and Kirkpatrick.

FilmRise – founded in 2012 by Fisher, Jack Fisher and Alan Klingenstein – offers over 30,000 film and TV titles across streaming platforms including Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, 3rd Rock From The Sun and 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary winner Rewind.

NENT Studios UK was launched in September last year as part of NENT Group’s overhaul of its operations. That rejig saw the company’s production interests – which comprise 32 companies across 17 countries – split into three units: NENT Studios Nordics & CEE; NENT Studios US; and NENT Studios UK.

The UK division – including former distribution arm DRG – is focused on the development, funding, production and distribution of both scripted and unscripted content, with a focus on delivering content to NENT’s streamer Viaplay.