discop link • #11

newsDISCOP.Link brings youall the news of thelatest 'done deals'throughout the DISCOPregion.WHEELER DEALERBy Bob JenkinsAETN International's director ofinternational content sales, JonathanSouth, has been busy in theregion lately. Recently closed dealsinclude over one hundred hours withRomania's Antenna, including DECOD-ING THE PAST, a look at the greatprophecies, signs and wonders of thepast from Nostradamus to Da Vinci toThe Bible, and CRISS ANGEL MINDF-REAK. The latter starring the eponymousCriss Angel, a master provocateurwho demonstrates a new breedof modern mysticism that will amazeaudiences everywhere.South also wrapped up twentyhours of history programmingwith Russia's Kultura channel includinga look at the architectural triumphsof the ancient world in ENGI-NEERING AN EMPIRE.Emphatically in the modern world isRussia's CTC Network, whichdebuted 3 rd September with a localversion of Telemundo's hit telenovelaLOS TREINTA. Telling the story of four,thirty something, couples LOS TREIN-TA focuses on four men, all partnersin El Aire, a very modern restaurant,and the common problems they faceof money, routine, success, jealousy,infidelity, lack of desire and debts.Well, common in telenovelas anyway.Produced for CTC by A Media, one ofRussia's leading independent productioncompanies, LOS TREINTA hasalready been a big success in Romaniafor Zone Romantica as well asEcuador, Chile, Nicaragua, Panama,Cyprus and Portugal where it got a33% primetime share.Another telenovela, STORM OFLOVE, this time from Bavaria MediaTelevision, stormed has throughthe DISCOP region. So it is hardly surprisingthat the sequel, TEMPEST OFLOVE, is, reports Bavaria's head ofEastern European Affairs, HelgeKohnen, "generating strong competitionin almost all CEE countries." Insome that competition has beenresolved with Bavaria closing dealswith Slovak TV, Estonia's TV3, LatvianTV, and TV3 Lithuania.We all know that telenovelas areabout star-crossed lovers whodo have their problems. However, wealso know that, in the end, everythingalways manages to find its way to ahappy ending. Fremantle's LOVE YOUTO DEATH tells the story of starcrossedlovers whose sorry tales endwith one of them murdering the other.Starring John Waters (PINK FLAMIN-GOS, HAIRSPRAY, CRY-BABY) theseries recounts the ill-fated, and reallife, cases of spouses deciding to takewhat they thought would be the 'easyway out.' Veronika Gracher, FME'svice-president sales, German speakingEurope & Eastern Europe hasrecently sold LOVE YOU TO DEATH toTV3 Russia, RTL Klub Hungary,Lithuania's LNK, Fox Life Bulgaria andBalkans, and Ukrainian distributorCarmen Films.Love didn't feature much in the livesof England's Tudor royal dynasty.Sex did though, as did intrigue, murderand betrayal, which probablyexplains the popularity of Sony PictureTelevision's THE TUDORS, which featuresin a major multi-year contentdeal the company has just struck withCroatia's Nova TV. The deal alsoincludes major movie hits such as SPI-DERMAN 1+ 2, the Antonio Banderasand Catherine Zeta Jones vehicle,THE LEGEND OF ZORRO andXXX:STATE OF THE UNION, as well asnew TV series such as DAMAGES,starring Glenn Close, Lloyd Owen'sVIVA LAUGHLIN, CANTEBURY'S LAWstarring Julianna Margulies and LucyLiu vehicle, CASMERRE MAFIA. Alsoincluded in the deal are classic favouritessuch as the SEINFELD SHOW andthe hugely popular soap, DAYS OFOUR LIVES.Another huge package has beenstruck by MTV in Albania whereDigit-Alb has acquired 263 hours ofprogramming including 69 half-hoursof PIMP MY RIDE, 26 half-hours ofTAK AND THE POWER OF JUJU, 63half-hours of JIMMY NORTON, 68 ofCAT DOG, 40 half-hours of THE HILLS,and 42 half-hours of teenage soapLAGUNA BEACH, and two one-hourspecials. As well as many episodesfrom AVATAR, REN & STIMPY, ANGRYBEAVERS and MY LIFE AS A ROBOT.Adifferent MTV, this one Hungary'sstate broadcaster, has acquiredELIZABETH I from British distributorAll3Media. The 2 x 120-minute miniseriesstars Academy Award winnersHelen Mirren as the ageing Elizabethand Jeremy Irons as her lover the EarlOf Leicester, exposes the conflictbetween her sense of duty and theinstincts of her heart. All3Media havemade another recent sale in Hungary,to Cool TV, and it could hardly be moredifferent. SKINS, of which Cool hasacquired 19 hours, is a cutting edgeyouth drama set in Bristol and tellingthe story of an engaging group ofteenagers with attitude and humour.Finally, in a sign of the growingimportance of the DISCOP marketsin the international content businessZodiak Vostok has announced adeal with French producer A PrimeGroup to co-produce two pilot episodesof the hit daily format, TOUNDERSTAND & FORGIVE. The series,which has been a huge successof Russia's First Channel, for whom ithas been produced by Zodiak Vostok100% owned subsidiary, TeleAlliance,is a daily drama revolving around psychotherapiststrying to solve real lifeissues ranging from adultery to blackmailand rivalry. }50 DISCOP LINK • #11 • NOVEMBER 07