Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Prime Video strikes OTF deal in Germany

Off The Fence has closed a volume deal with Prime Video Germany that spans nature, wildlife, lifestyle and crime titles, as well as two feature documentaries that will be territory premieres.

Silverback and We Are Guardians will make their bows in Germany via the Amazon-owned streamer. The former follows wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet on a mission to protect the Democratic Republic of Congo’s critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas, and was produced by OTF Studios, the BBC, France Télévisions, and Featuristic Film.

We Are Guardians, produced by Mídia Indígena, One Forest, Highly Flammable, Random Good and Appian Way, explores the destruction of the Amazon rainforest through the lens of Brazil’s indigenous ‘forest guardians’. It launched in 2024 on Netflix Latin America.

Other shows in the ;package include The Secrets to Civilization, true-crime special Forging Fate: The Disappearing Art Dealer, travelogue Go Gently With Bonnie Wright, and two series of Ocean Wonders. The deals were brokered by OTF sales executive Klara van Doorn.

Korea’s CJ ENM, Prime Video strike pact

South Korea’s CJ ENM has agreed a multi-year worldwide distribution deal with Amazon’s Prime Video.

The pact sees the streamer acquiring exclusive rights outside of Korea and China to CJ ENM shows in 2025 and 2026, with series such as fantasy romance drama Head Over Heels among the first to become available.

Series from CJ ENM, Studio Dragon and CJ ENM Studios are all included, with titles such as romcom Her Private Life and detective show, Mouse. Another Miss Oh and famous detective series, Mouse.

All shows will be subtitled in 28 languages, with dubbing available in 11 languages.

BBC orders prison drama

The BBC has officially greenlit Sister prison drama Waiting For The Out (w/t) from Utopia writer Dennis Kelly.

Based on Andy West’s memoir The Life Inside, the six-part series centres on philosopher Dan (The Responder’s Josh Finan), who begins teaching a class of men in prison.

Each week, he introduces topics such as dominance, freedom and luck into discussion with the inmates, which are given fresh meaning when explored through prisoners’ perspectives. Read more

Spain’s Secuoya claims record 2024

Secuoya Content Group hit revenues of €142m (£120m) and an EBITDA of €59m in 2024, marking a record year for the Spanish production outfit.

The company said the year-on-year increases - 33% in revenue and 85% in EBITDA - were a “direct consequence” of the performance of Secuoya Studios, which produced five scripted series last year and expanded its catalogue to a total of 156 hours.

Raúl Berdonés, founder and executive chairman of Secuoya Content Group, said: “Four years ago, we made a bold decision to pivot from a service-based business model to become a content-driven company. Today, the results validate that choice.”