Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart proved to be strong sellers for Fremantle International Distribution at MipTV, with three US sales unveiled for the celebrity chef along with a raft of deals for new chat show Martha.
Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart proved to be strong sellers for Fremantle International Distribution at MipTV, with three US sales unveiled for the celebrity chef along with a raft of deals for new chat show Martha.

Oliver will make his debut on US cable channel TLC later this year, after the Discovery-owned network picked up both Jamie's School Dinnersand Jamie's Kitchen. In addition, sister network the Travel Channel has bought the celebrity chef's latest series, Jamie's Great Italian Escape, which has now clocked up sales in some 25 territories.

The deals bring the number of territories to have ordered Jamie's School Dinners to 33, while Jamie's Kitchenhas now been sold in over 40 territories.

Martha (180 x 1-hour), meanwhile, has now been sold into 10 territories worldwide, with more deals on the cards. Broadcasters picking up the daily one-hour programme, which launched in the US on NBC last September, include Iceland's IBC Channel 2, Sweden's TV4 and Television New Zealand.

Elsewhere, Fremantle unveiled a number of sales in Germany, with Discovery Europe taking the one-hour documentary Munich: The Real Assassinsfor German-speaking Europe, and The History Channel buying History of Football: The Beautiful Game(13 x 1-hour). Other German deals will see crime drama Homicide(55 x 1-hour) air on AXN, while Sex In The Bush: Australian Animal Attraction(2 x 1 hour) will be seen on Arte in both Germany and France.

In separate news, Fremantle International Distribution MD David Ellender has been appointed CEO of FremantleMedia Enterprises, giving him control of the company's licensing and merchandising activities, as well as international programme sales.