Channel 4’s foreign-language drama service Walter Presents is set to launch in the US, marking its first moves into the international market.
A Stateside debut for the VoD service, co-founded and fronted by former Betty TV executive Walter Iuzzolino, is understood to be as early as next year.
Iuzzolino his partners at Global Series Network – former Fox channels boss Jason Thorp and ex-Tiger Aspect exec Jo McGrath – have spent the last few months negotiating with partners over the global roll out of the service.
C4 chief executive David Abraham, speaking, at an Enders Analysis conference in March, said that the broadcaster was already in talks with potential international partners to roll out the service beyond the UK.
A C4 spokesperson told Broadcast: “Our ambition from launch was to extend the Walter Presents service beyond the UK and we’re continually looking at a range of international territories in which to do this in the future.”
Walter Presents debuted in January with hit German drama Deutschland 83, which quickly became the UK’s highest-rated foreign-language drama debut when it opened with 2.5m (8%) viewers on its linear debut.
The OTT service has so far launched 27 shows from 14 countries. Its library of content features around 700 hours of curated foreign-language dramas, including Brazilian thriller Magnifica 70, French crime drama Mafiosa and Israeli romantic comedy Beauty and the Baker.
Nordic noir drama Valkyrien will launch on the service in January, while Deutschland 83 sequel Deutschland 86 is slated to air in 2018.
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