UKTV picks up ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ in Disney drama deal

Sons Of Anarchy (Source: UKTV)

BBC Studios-owned UKTV has acquired the rights to six drama series from Disney for its channels Alibi, Drama and Dave and streaming service UKTV Play.

Headed to streaming service UKTV Play are all five seasons of family drama Brothers And Sisters (109 x 60-minutes) and all seven seasons of motorcycle club crime series Sons Of Anarchy (92 x 60-minutes).

Picked up by Alibi is Alaska Daily, an 11 x 60-minute series starring Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.

The channel has also taken 10 x 60-minute, Milo Ventimiglia-led The Company You Keep, which is based on the Korean Broadcasting System series My Fellow Citizens.

The Drama channel has picked up 8 x 60-minute A Small Light, a fact-based series about Miep Gies, a young, carefree secretary who hid Otto Frank and his family from the Nazis in World War Two. Dave, meanwhile, has taken 8 x 30-minute Mike, a limited series about the infamous British boxer Mike Tyson.

The deal was secured by Rachel Bailey, global senior acquisitions manager and overseen by Melanie Rumani, global head of acquisitions, UKTV and BBC Studios alongside Jenny Lamond, senior sales manager, content distribution on behalf of The Walt Disney Company.

“Growing our portfolio of content for UKTV Play, and providing Drama, Alibi and Dave audiences with more excellent content is a huge priority for us, and these programmes are sure to be a hit when they air later this year,” said Rumani.