Lionsgate kicked off MIPCOM Cannes with a series of first international deals for its slate of unscripted and factual formats.
The company announced several international sales of unscripted titles, including music documentaries. Andrea Bocelli: Because I believe to Yes (Israel) and HRT (Croatia); Married to the gamewatch the wives and girlfriends of Premier League football stars, with seasons 1 and 2 sold to Amazon Prime Video (Scandinavia), Corus (Canada) and SkyFree (New Zealand); rural reality television format Fletchers Family Farm go to Sky (Germany); and an unscripted fishing show based in Massachusetts Nasty tuna sale to Sky (Germany) and Altresmedia (Spain). Additional sales include Clive Myrie’s Caribbean adventure to the BBC studios for worldwide distribution, Adolf Hitler’s War to the Prima group (Czech Republic) and The secrets of Diana’s wedding dress at HRT (Croatia).
Another of Lionsgate’s unscripted highlights is Tony Shalhoub breaking breadwith the Emmy winner Monk star attending the market to promote the new food travel show, which premiered Sunday on CNN.
Elsewhere in the unscripted space, Cineflix Rights reported strong sales for its latest factual programming, securing a raft of deals for history and adventure titles. Bell Media Disappeared history the series has been licensed to Foxtel (Australia), RTL (Germany), Mediaset (Italy), Discovery (Iberia) and Hearst Networks for Benelux and Africa. The Canal+ series Commando Missions sold to SBS (Australia), Société Radio-Canada (French Canada), Foxtel (Australia) and Creo (South Korea), with additional rights previously sold to Hearst Networks and Czech TV.
Cineflix also handled international sales of three premium historical series from French producer Pernel Media: Alexander the Great: legendary conqueror was acquired by Viasat World for Viasat History in CEE and Scandinavia, RTL and ZDF (Germany), SBS (Australia) and Hearst Networks (Turkey and Middle East) following previous sales to Mediaset (Italy) and Movistar (Spain); Vikings: the North Sea Empire went to Viasat World for the story of Viasat across CEE and Scandinavia, ZDF (Germany), Disney (Benelux), YLE (Finland), SBS (Australia) and Movistar (Spain); And Ramses the Great: king of ancient Egypt sold to ZDF (Germany), DRTV (Denmark) and Discovery (Iberia), joining a list of previous buyers including Hearst Networks (UK, Benelux, Middle East and Africa), RTL (Germany), Mediaset (Italy) and CBC and Société Radio-Canada (Canada).
Also at MIPCOM is Banijay Asia, the regional division of the independent production giant behind Survivor And Chefannounced a two-year collaboration with Netherlands-based Talpa Studios to represent Talpa’s portfolio of unscripted formats in India and Thailand. The deal will see Banijay Asia adapt and produce regional versions of Talpa’s hits including The ground, The quiz with balls, The Alliance And Most wanted.
In a separate deal announced on Tuesday, production and distribution giant Fremantle and social media specialist Viral Nation confirmed they would partner on a series of YouTube creator-led shows, including a social star-making competition format. Model creator, developed in association with the Ford Models agency, and the true detective series Code Cream.
Separately, Electric Entertainment announced a $20 million investment from Content Partners Capital. The funding, revealed during the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations in Cannes, will support Electric’s continued growth in production and distribution.
Led by CEO Dean Devlin, the Los Angeles-based studio behind series including Leverage, Librarians And The arch has produced 36 episodes in three television series over the past year. The deal marks the latest in Content Partners Capital’s expansion into entertainment-focused investments since launching its private capital division in 2024.
