MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has announced a deal securing worldwide television distribution rights for five brand new documentaries from UK factual film makers Atlantic Productions.

This has launched at the on-going television trade event MipTV in Cannes, France. Each of the one hour programmes provides an insight, based on new research, into iconic events that have shaped our world.
The first documentary reveals the story behind the undercover mission that exposed the west’s most prolific and dangerous double agent. Superspy: The Man Who Betrayed The West is the story of Robert Hanssen, the FBI double agent responsible for the West’s worst ever security breach, selling secrets worth billions of dollars that were passed on to Osama Bin Laden and used to facilitate the planning of 9/11.

The dramatised documentary uses dramatic reconstruction, first hand testimony from key figures involved in Hanssen’s arrest, original FBI footage and KGB voice recordings to recount the inside story of the hunt to trap the most damaging spy of all time. Among those taking part in the film is Eric O’Neill, the FBI agent tasked with discovering the truth about Hanssen’s espionage activities, who talks about his involvement in the case for the first time.

O’Neill’s story is also the basis for the current Hollywood film Breach starring Chris Cooper, Laura Linney and Ryan Phillippe. Also taking part in the documentary, which is a co-production with Discovery, La7 and FremantleMedia, are Hanssen’s psychiatrist and the former CIA operative who, for many years, was considered the traitor in the midst.

As Nasa outlines its plans to return to the moon for the first time in over 30 years, Apollo 11: The Untold Story and Apollo 13: The Inside Story reveal the untold stories of the two most famous space missions. Apollo 11: The Untold Story goes behind the public story of this legendary mission to reveal the untold account of how close the first moon landing came to disaster. Through first-hand testimony from Buzz Aldrin and key mission personnel, this critically acclaimed documentary presents a tale of primitive computer technology, human errors and mechanical failures that nearly resulted in the loss of the crew.

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Apollo 13: The Inside Story uses first hand testimony and archive footage to reveal what really happened when Nasa mounted the most dramatic rescue operation in the history of human exploration. When a violent explosion tore through the fragile skin of the Apollo 13 spacecraft 200,000 miles from earth in April 1970, the lives of the crew hung by a thread, with the oxygen supply running out.

In this film astronauts James Lovell and Fred Haise, along with their flight controllers, reveal the ultimate survival story and the truth about a mission which gripped the world over four tense days.

The next of the documentaries acquired by FME examines man’s ongoing battle with the threat of infectious disease. In the age of Sars, Bird Flu, the Ebola Virus and Aids some experts are looking for help in the most unlikely of places – the past. The Great Plague swept through London in 1655, killing a third of its population. But why were some mysteriously resistant to the deadliest disease then known?

Secrets of the Great Plague follows medical detective Dr. Stephen O’Brien as he undertakes a series of experiments and archaeological discoveries to reveal how the Great Plague could hold the key to surviving infectious diseases in the 21st century.

The final documentary included in the deal re-opens the case of the notorious serial killer Jack The Ripper. For more than a century, his crimes have inspired both horror and intrigue and theories abound as to the identity of the killer, but few are based on the facts. To this day his reign of terror remains one of history’s greatest mysteries: motiveless, unmatched in brutality, and still unsolved.

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Now, in Jack The Ripper: The First Serial Killer Laura Richards of Scotland Yard’s Violent Crime Directorate re-examines the case, completely changing our understanding of the killer. Utilising modern criminology and psychological analysis, plus the aid of Britain’s best detectives, Richards uses 21st century techniques to understand a 19th century killer, providing a detailed psychological study of the kind of person he was, where he lived and even what he looked like.

FME VP programming Mark Gray says, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring these fascinating documentaries to international broadcasters at MipTV. Atlantic Productions are a world renowned team who have a strong track record in making incredibly detailed and complex subjects accessible to viewers worldwide. Equally strong in subject and innovative approach, we are confident audiences will find them extremely appealing.”

MUMBAI: Fremantle International Distribution (FID) has signed a joint venture agreement with Bertelsmanns music publishing business, Sony BMG to maximise opportunities in the expanding popular culture and music event programming market.

Currently, the global music DVD business is estimated to be worth $3.5 billion and is growing at a rate of 10 per cent annually. In the UK, 200 million DVD units were sold in 2004 alone, of which 15 per cent was music-related, valuing the music DVD business at ?60.7 million.

The 50:50 joint venture will see FID, which has distribution operations in London, Berlin, Madrid, Singapore, Sydney, New York and Miami and Sony BMG, which has established relationships with major music artists and on-the-ground DVD operations in over 50 markets, unite their global sales operations in TV programme and DVD distribution. The new venture will provide a unique one-stop-shop for major music artists and other popular culture properties with international appeal.

Under the agreement, the pair will jointly exploit Sony BMG’s back catalogue of TV properties as well as invest in music event programming that has the potential to be exploited on television and DVD internationally. The aim is to create and distribute four to six new TV/DVD properties per year and to co-ordinate the international exploitation across all media to fully maximise the potential of each event.

Commenting on the deal, Fremantle International Distribution managing director David Ellender said, “Demand for event pop culture and music programming internationally is strong and we have proven strength in related genres through American Idol, Project Runway, and existing Sony BMG music titles such as Britney Spears: In the Zone, Maroon 5, One Night with Rod Stewart and other music specials. The joint venture will enable us to create with Sony BMG even bigger scale product in these genres and allow Fremantle International Distribution to share in the global DVD market, which will benefit from the TV exposure we can deliver.”

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Sony BMG UK Visual Media’s Solomon Nwabueze added, “No one has yet combined international DVD and TV exploitation in one entity. Artists and creative talent have to enter multiple deals with no co-ordination between TV and record companies. The music television distribution business is more akin to a ‘cottage industry’ dominated by numerous specialist companies allied to establish record companies or independents with DVD sales focus, not TV. We see this as a logical next step that will be mutually beneficial for both parties and artists.”

MUMBAI: FremantleMedia has inked a significant deal with leading UK independent producer, Impossible Pictures, the multi-award winning creators of the Walking With Dinosaurs series.

FremantleMedia’s distribution and licensing arms – Fremantle International Distribution (FID) and FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) respectively – are involved in a comprehensive deal for the keenly awaited, brand new six-part series Prehistoric Park, to be created by Impossible Pictures. Prehistoric Park is a co-production between ITV (UK), Animal Planet (US), M6 (France) and ProSieben (Germany).

Scheduled for delivery to the UK’s ITV1 in 2006, Prehistoric Park will be one of the channel’s most ambitious factual productions ever. As co-financers, FID has acquired the worldwide distribution rights (excluding France and Germany) to the series, adding the title to their ever increasing catalogue of top factual programming.

As part of the deal, FLW will handle the licensing rights to the series including DVD, merchandising and publishing rights.

Prehistoric Park is the very latest CGI-driven project from Impossible Pictures, featuring natural history frontman Nigel Marven. Impossible Pictures had a major success with Walking with Dinosaurs, which was a smash hit when it launched on the BBC in 2002 and went on to be a worldwide ratings winner.

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Prehistoric Park will feature stunning scenery from some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places on earth – from history and today – as Marven is seen to travel back in time to rescue species before they die out and brings them into the 21st century. Working alongside historical experts and scientists, viewers will see Marven determine the bite-strength of a modern-day crocodile as well as that of its Cretaceous cousin. Marven’s prehistoric charges will ultimately rub shoulders with the current inhabitants of a wildlife sanctuary with whom their habits and habitats will be compared.

Fremantle International Distribution MD David Ellender said, “Impossible Pictures is a valuable addition to FID’s slate of top-end producers. The recognition they have earned for their incredible CGI-based programming is well-deserved and far-reaching. Prehistoric Park is an amazing and truly original concept, featuring an incredibly well respected and world-renowned expert in Nigel Marven. With a theme that is both timeless and of interest to all age groups, I anticipate a lot of interest in the show from global broadcasters.”

FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide CEO Simon Spalding added, “Impossible Pictures are, without a doubt, one of the pre-eminent producers of high-end factual programming. We are very excited to have secured the licensing and merchandising rights for such a perennially collectable show.”