|
MUMBAI:
US broadcaster A&E Television Networks (AETN), which owns
The History Channel, A&E and The Biography Channel, and
ZDF Enterprises have announced at the television trade event
MipTV the renewal of their existing programming and co-production
deal for three years.
The
agreement, originally reached in 2005, includes co-production
and programme acquisition components, as well as a new syndication
representation deal.
The
agreement calls for ZDF Enterprises to acquire non-fiction
programming from AETN International’s History catalogue
for the top-rated ZDF History programming block, which broadcasts
weekly on Sunday nights. The block is programmed under the
editorial control of ZDF programmers with content provided
by both ZDF and History (US).
In
addition, The History Channel in Germany will acquire local
history programming from ZDF Enterprises for broadcast on
its service, as well as biography and lifestyle programming
for The Biography Channel. Amongst the programmes are the
two-parter The Last Voyage of the Gustloff about the
largest disaster in naval history with a death toll of 9,000
and the series Final Days of an Icon which examines
the lives of 13 historical figures and their deaths under
mysterious circumstances.
Through
a third component of the agreement, History (US) and ZDF Enterprises
have extended their co-production partnership to produce nine
contemporary and ancient history programmes over the next
three years for broadcast on ZDF in Germany and on History
in the United States.
In
the final part of the deal, AETN International has named ZDF
Enterprises as its syndication representative for German-speaking
Europe for Modern Marvels. This is a show on the history
of technology. Produced for History, the Modern Marvels
catalogue features over 400 hours of programming.
ZDF
Enterprises president and CEO Alexander Coridass says, “The
combination of AETN, ZDF and ZDF Enterprises programming expertise
is synonymous to high-calibre programming for audiences around
the globe. We are very proud of this longstanding and fruitful
partnership of global players in the most significant fields
of the television industry.
"In
this very competitive time of digital changes, we are pleased
that our close relationship with this successful and reliable
partner is still going strong.”
AETN
SVP, international Sean Cohan says, “ZDF Enterprises
has been an important production and distribution partner
for AETN through the years, and we are very pleased to extend
our relationship by appointing them as syndication representative
for Modern Marvels in the German-speaking Europe."
|
