NTV announced a set of deals within the Japanese market. NHK Enterprises, Inc. has acquired rights to NTV’s period drama "Noble Detective" to be aired on AXN Mystery in Japan. Japanese distributor, Trans World Associates, a major Japanese distributor purchased VOD rights to NTV’s hit thriller "Schubert." "Asia is one of the most important markets for us. Few Russian TV shows have been aired on Asian channels so far but we can see the growing interest for Russian content, especially action-packed crime stories and period dramas, from Asian players and TV viewers," NTV General Producer, Timur Weinstein said.
"Schubert" aired on NTV in 2017 and is set to appear in company’s catalogue shortly, with Japanese subtitles. The show’s share reached 10.7%, with almost 17 million views online. The deal marks the first time an Asian market player acquires the rights to ‘Noble Detective’, ‘Schubert’ is having its second acquisition of rights. It is available on BiliBili, China’s biggest online platform, scheduled air in 2020-2021 on NTV. AXN Mystery/The channel is set to air ‘Noble Detective’ in February 2021.
Apart from Asia, the NTV content is in high demand in other international markets. The channel’s projects are available in dozens of countries on the largest global streaming services and channels, in international distributor’s catalogues, and on various VOD services including BiliBili, Amazon Prime Video, and TenTime. Asian audiences are already familiar with NTV’s TV shows, and in turn, NTV actively purchases Asian content.
‘Schubert’ tells the story of a man with the unique ability to discern sounds and catch the noises ordinary people cannot hear. He works as a sound designer until a fatal mistake ends his career and the murder of his Wife Olga leads him to uncover a secret about his therapist. “Noble Detective” is set in the imperial Russia of the early 20th century, following Nikolay Bezsonov, a young man who becomes an investigator. Despite his intelligence, his coworkers are cold towards him.