WWII air crash doc goes global

Broadcasters in Australia and Northern Europe have pre-bought a documentary series commissioned by UKTV that explores the air crash sites of the Second World War.

SBS and Foxtel in Australia have picked up WW2 Air Crash Detectives (6×60′), which comes from UK-based factual entertainment outfit Like A Shot and is presented by Garth Barnard, who has researched, studied and explored more than 400 crash sites.

Viasat in Northern Europe has also pre-bought the series from TCB Media Rights, the rights ownership and distribution business set up by former Cineflix Rights MD Paul Heaney in 2012.

The recent deals mean that more than 50% of the finance for the series is now secured, TCB says.

“These pre-sale agreements underline the fact that if you find pragmatic producers such as Like A Shot, we are then able to work together on strong projects to get them fully financed, do the pre-sales, get it greenlit, then sell the proverbial out of it,” Heaney said.

Also on TCB’s Mipcom slate are Jacked (10×60′), which sees homes hoisted as high as 12 feet off the ground to save them from environmental catastrophes, and Closing Time (8×30′), produced for Channel 5 in the UK by True North/GME.

The series takes a behind-the-scenes look at the bouncers, taxi drivers, paramedics and takeaway-owners who work to keep UK drinkers safe and happy, and who picks up the pieces when things go wrong.