All the latest news from the global content industry on Monday, 7 July

 

NBCU extends ProSieben output deal

ProSiebenSat.1 has struck an expanded multi-year pact with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution that will see almost 2,000 hours of shows heading to the German media giant.

The new deal builds on a similar agreement struck in 2023 but now also includes AVOD rights, enabling shows to be available on P7’s streamer Joyn.

The agreement provides access to series such as The Hunting Party, St Denis Medical and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as yet-to-launch productions and films including Despicable Me 4 and Wicked.

 

SBS and C4 among Woodcut pre-sales

Two Woodcut Media documentaries that colourise archive film have both landed pre-sale orders from Channel 4 in the UK and SBS in Australia.

Britain’s Railway Empire in Colour is a two-parter that marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of rail and explores how steam power technology was exported around the world.

The Manhattan Project in Colour is an hour-long documentary for August, commemorating the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The shows follow Woodcut’s indie’s Titanic in Colour doc, which aired last year.

Woodcut International is handling worldwide sales, with The Manhattan Project in Colour also selling to Mediawan in France for its channel Toute L’Histoire, Sweden’s TV Catalunya UR, and Viasat World and Channel 8 in Israel. YLE also acquired the doc for Finland, as well as Britain’s Railway Empire in Colour.

 

Catalan festival launches co-pro competition

Barcelona-based festival Serielizados has launched a new co-production pitch event titled Mind the Gap.

The competition, which aims to help projects close their final funding gap by giving them international visibility, will take place on 6 November at the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, SGAE) headquarters in Catalonia.

Ten projects will be chosen to pitch, with a jury of commissioners and sales agents picking one project for a €5,500 (£4,800) prize. All participating projects will have the opportunity to attend one-to-one meetings scheduled by the organisation.

The submission period is now open and will close on 21 July. The pitch is part of Serielizados PRO, the industry section of Serielizados - 12th International Series Festival of Barcelona. This year’s festival run 3-12 November.

 

SBS chairman steps down

George Savvides has stepped down as chairman of Australian broadcaster SBS.

Savvides was named deputy chair in February 2017 and took up his most recent role in July 2020, with his tenure including oversight of the ongoing digital transformation process and support for communities through the pandemic.

Current SBS deputy chair, Christine Zeitz, will serve as acting chair until a new chairperson is appointed by the Federal Government.