Scandi dramas top ZDFE sales

MIPCOM NEWS: Scandinavian crime drama has taken top billing for ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) at this year’s market.

The international distribution arm of German pubcaster ZDF has sold Danmark Radio’s hit drama The Killing to a further eight broadcasters on the back of a successful international debut on the BBC, followed by a US remake.

Other broadcasters to take one or both seasons included Australia’s SBS; DirecTV in Latin America; AXN in Spain; Channel One in Russia; KLB in France; Ale Kino/Canal+ in Poland; Mega Channel in Greece and Cyprus; and Lumière in Benelux.

The BBC has since picked up season two as well as another two Scandinavian thrillers, Danish-Swedish copro The Bridge and Sweden’s Sebastian Bergmann.

Meanwhile, free-TV rights to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy – nominated for International Emmys in three categories – have been acquired by Austria’s ORF and Switzerland’s SF.

ZDFE has also reported brisk sales for its drama packages. Italy’s Rai picked up shows including German crime drama Stuttgart Homicide (35 episodes), telenovela Ways to Happiness (100 episodes) and five romantic TV movies. German Soap Alisa (240 episodes) has been sold to Croatia’s HRT, while Estonia’s Kanal 2 acquired medical daily Flickering Hearts (100 episodes).

On the kids’ programming front, Jonathan M Shiff’s live-action mermaid series H2O – Just Add Water has continued to sell strongly, with further sales to Disney Portugal, Nickelodeon in France and HRT in Croatia, as well as reruns on Spain’s Antena 3.

Shiff’s second live-action series Elephant Princess (seasons one and two) and Australian teen drama Dance Academy, from Werner Film Productions, were both picked up by Israel’s Noga TV.

Dance Academy, which has also sold to Iceland’s Skjarinn and Ukraine’s Direct Sight, is another show on ZDFE’s books to be nominated for an International Emmy, in the Children and Young People category.

ZDFE’s animation deals included the sale of Jungle Book to Mexico’s Televisa and Ukraine’s Direct Sight, while pay-TV rights went to Turner in Germany. Tempo Express sold to Spain’s TVE and Sherlock Yack went to YLE in Finland and Noga.

The distributor also reported brisk documentary sales. These included deals with DR TV in Denmark; TV2 and NRK in Norway; Japan’s France Télévisions in France, the latter picking up the new doc Egypt’s Lost Rival.