BLUE ANT SECURES SALES OF 300 HOURS OF CONTENT ACROSS NORTH AMERICA

Leading into NATPE, Blue Ant International announced that it has secured several sales of more than 300 hours to platforms in the United States, the Carribean Basin and Canada, across the distributor’s Factual, Specialist Factual, High-Impact Documentaries and Kids & Family categories. In Canada, sales include various English- and French-language linear and streaming platforms.

“We’ve had incredible interest from both our current customers and emerging streaming services in the United States and Canada,” said Solange Attwood, EVP at Blue Ant International. “The broad audiences that our platform partners offer speaks to the universal appeal of Blue Ant International’s catalogue, which has a diverse array of genres and includes programming narrated by the iconic voices of some of Hollywood’s top talent,”  she added.

These follow two recently announced deals including the sale of natural history series “A Wild Year on Earth” (6 x 60; HD & 4K; Northern Pictures) to BBC America, and the sale of two kids and family series to HBO Max: “Detention Adventure” (20 x 11’; HD; LoCo Motion Pictures & Broken Compass Films) and “Make it Big, Make it Small” (7 x 30’; Blue Ant Studios).

In the United States, AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now has picked up “Fight for Justice: David and Me,” which chronicles the efforts of filmmaker Ray Klonsky in his 10-year struggle to get a prison sentence overturned for David McCallum, who was just a 16-year-old kid from Brooklyn when he went to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Modern media company Tastemade has picked up “David Rocco’s Dolce Napoli,” which will be available on the lifestyle streaming network in the US, UK, and Canada. The series follows celebrity chef David Rocco to Naples, where he uncovers hidden gems in the city and explores the surrounding scenic islands of Capri, Ischia, Procida and the beautiful Sorrento peninsula. 

Furthermore, across the United States and Canada, Quintus Media has licensed a multitude of factual and high-impact documentary titles for its AVOD platform Free Documentary that includes more than 180 hours of content. 

Moreover, BYUtv will broadcast “Paul Brandt's Build It Forward”. Hosted by country music star Paul Brandt, the series follows the goodwill and grace of volunteers who create a new home for a family in need, who, in turn, help build a new home for another family, this time in a developing country.

In Canada, seasons 3-6 of “Hope for Wildlife,” which follows wildlife advocate Hope Swinimer and her team who rescue thousands of sick, injured and lost animals and return them to their natural habitats, will air on Corus Entertainment’s specialty channel Nat Geo WILD, while TVO has picked up the second season of the show. Additionally, TVO has picked up “ER Vets,” which follows the stressful situations faced by veterinary professionals as they deal with emotional pet owners; and seasons 2-3 of “Great Blue Wild,” in which the wildest adventures of the world’s greatest dive shops are revealed in their own underwater video footage, featuring encounters with massive humpbacks, manta rays and sharks.

French Canadian network Quebecor Content has licensed “Life Below Zero: Canada,” a documentary series about a diverse group of people who live off the grid and content with long, dark, frozen winters in remote regions of northern Canada, based on BBC’s successful format.

The CBC/Radio-Canada has picked up French Canadian rights for the first season of “Detention Adventure” for its Ici.Tou.tv streaming service. SRC has also licensed several natural history titles including: “Hope for Wildlife” (season 9); “Animals at Play”; “Malawi Wildlife Rescue”; “Epic Yellowstone”; “Life on the Reef”; and “Epic Warrior Women: Vikings”.