Monday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

BBC Select, A+e among Woodcut Int’l deals

Woodcut International has struck a raft of deals across the US, CEE/EU, and MENA for its line-up of true crime, history, and factual unscripted programming.

In the US, A+E Networks (Crime Central) has bought How I Caught the Killer (S2–4) and The Killer Within, while Noah TV (Story Television) licensed WW2: Women on the Frontline and Paranormal Captured (S1–2 plus a special).

BBC Select secured US rights to Woodcut Media’s Britain’s Railway Empire in Colour and The Manhattan Project in Colour, while RadioCanada also picked up the latter for its French-language service.

In CEE and across Europe, Dox TV acquired more than 30 hours of history and true crime including Mengele Unveiled, while Hungary’s Spektrum TV landed a raft of shows including The Manhattan Project in Colour, the latter also picked up by Finland’s YLE. In MENA, Asharq Networks came aboard with Titanic in Colour and The Manhattan Project in Colour.

HBO Max, Nat Geo buy from Big Media

Warner Bros. Discovery in the US and Nat Geo in the Benelux have picked up factual shows from Big Media.

WBD’s HBO Max and The Science Channel in the US have licensed Destruction Decoded and Fatal Engineering, as has Nat Geo in the Benelux.

HBO Max and Science Channel have also added Modern Warfare 2.0.to their slates in the US.

Fred unveils record Mipcom slate

Australia’s Fred Media has added seven producers to its roster in recent weeks and is bringing a record 450+ hours of shows to Mipcom next month.

New prodco partnerships for Fred, which is part of Australia’s WTFN Group, will see shows including Holiday Home Makeover with Rachel and Ryan from Rachel and Ryan Productions headed to Cannes.

Makeover show Budget Battlers is from Jess Eva’s Maker Media, while Free Flow Films’ Washed Away tracks the true events of the Northern Rivers floods, one of Australia’s worst natural disasters.

Also on the slate is holiday series Luxury Escapes and wildlife show The Lion Queen from Magnetic Pictures and Rockpool Media, while Screen Glue’s kids shows Art Adventures with Fred and Pete, and Fred and Pete’s Treasure Tales, have also been picked up.

1440 Productions’ kids show The Yes Experiment is also o Fred’s slate, while MWC Media returns to the catalogue with a new series, Offline Travel. Existing partner North Light Productions has also handed its entire programme catalogue to Fred to represent globally outside of the Americas, with show such as Energy Matters and Beyond the Build.

BBC orders Mary Berry show

Banijay label Sidney Street is to produce a BBC2 series celebrating the cooking career of Mary Berry as she turns 90 years old.

The 6 x 30-minute series Mary at 90: A Lifetime of Cooking will take a look back at her career in food and see her reflect on how cooking has changed since the early days of her career in the 1960s.

Berry will demonstrate some of her all-time favourite recipes and introduce new recipes alongside guest stars including gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh, broadcaster Alex Jones, sports broadcaster Gabby Logan, chef Jamie Oliver, actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe and comedian Tom Allen.

Your Channels launches football FAST offering

Netherlands-based FAST operator Your Channels has partnered with Samsung TV Plus to launch the first Dutch 24/7 football channel.

VI TV (Voetbal International TV) provides access to the latest football news, reports, analyses, and highlights from Voetbal International, including recaps from every weekend football match.

The channel was developed in collaboration with PXR, publisher of Voetbal International; WPP Media (former GroupM), the world’s largest media buying agency; and Talpa Media.

Your Channels is also rolling out three decade-specific music channels in the Netherlands, with Your 60s, Your 70s, and Your 80s.