Blue Ant International, a transatlantic distributor of premium content and division of Blue Ant Media, announced from NATPE Budapest today its latest crop of central and eastern european sales. Offering an array of premium factual and lifestyle content worldwide, this recent crop of licensing deals reflect Blue Ant International’s ability to create custom programming packages, filled with hundreds of hours of content, that bring broad appeal. Blue Ant International will be showcasing its catalog offerings at NATPE Budapest at market table MT 1.

“Blue Ant International takes great pride in creating programming solutions that allow us to meet the needs of our global buyers and their audiences,” said Solange Attwood,EVP, Blue Ant International. “We look forward to showcasing our premium catalogue of content, along with our customizable packages, at NATPE Budapest this week.”

Russia’s First HDTV has secured a large order of over 135 hours from Blue Ant International’s catalog, which includes a sizable package of 60+ hours of natural history programming, including animal sanctuary tales from Kitty 911 (10×30; HD) and Hope for Wildlife (13×60’; 4K and HD); Strange Creatures, Seasons 1 and 2 (13 x 30’; 4K and HD), bringing astounding adaptations, marvelous mating rituals and amazing abnormalities among the weirdest of the wild; Wildlife Icons, Seasons 1 and 2 (14 x 60’), which introduces the Big Five of the Savannah, as well as some of Africa’s lesser-known residents such as the playful meerkat and the tiny elephant shrew; and The Big Feed (13×30), an educational series that teaches animal lovers about the creatures they adore by watching what and how they eat. First HDTV has also secured a lineup programming from the distributor’s Factual Entertainment and Kids & Family categories, including Taste of the Country (13×30’; HD), which introduces Danielle French and her team of visionaries as they design and execute rustic-chic dream events in the special setting of South Pond Farms; one-of-a-kind renovation series, Wild Ride(16×30), a 16-part reality series following 15 backpackers across South East Asia; and Kids & Family series, Make It Big, Make It Small (14×11; HD), which explains epic science and technology questions while inspiring kids to apply new knowledge to the DIY projects and crafts they create at home.

ITI Neovision S.A. (Poland) has snapped up a 50-hour package deal of natural history programming for its channels Planete+ and CANAL+, including the multiple award-winning series, Rooted (5×60’;4K + HD), a five part series created by revered natural history filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, which reveals five of South Africa’s most iconic trees and the unique repertoire of animals, insects, birds and environmental elements surrounding them; Africa’s Claws and Jaws (4×60’; 4K and HD), which explores some of the most dangerous animals known to man, from the great white shark to the black mamba; Over Australia (2×60’; 4K and HD), a sweeping aerial exploration of the oldest continent on the planet, revealing how a diversity of unique wildlife has adapted to the Australia’s developing mosaic of habitats; Untamed Valley (3×60’; 4K and HD), which explores Zambia’s Luangwa Valley and its most diverse habitats;  Life’s Journey (3×60’; 4K and HD), a character-led animal series following a colorful array of species as they are born, mature and have families of their own; Arabian Inferno (5×60’; 4K and HD), which explores the parched and barren landscape of the Arabian Peninsula; and Macro Worlds (3×60’; 4K and HD), a three-part series that unearths the phenomenally diverse world of insects and the crucial role they play in the ecosystems across Europe.

TVN Poland has licensed over 30 hours, including Blue Ant Media-produced Crazy Beautiful Weddings (10×30’; HD), in which DIY expert Lynzie Kent helps couples plan and execute their dream weddings; Amanda Holden-led confessional series I’ve Got Something To Tell You (6×60’; HD); as well as two series exploring the technological and architectural growth in Asia, Boomtown Asia (8×30’; HD) and Man Made Marvels: Asia (6×60’; HD).

FTV Prima (Czech Republic) has acquired over 60 hours of content across several of Blue Ant International’s tent-pole categories. In High Impact Documentaries, the company has picked up The Mind of Mark DeFriest (1×90’; HD), centred around a man once known as Houdini for his multiple and improbable jailbreaks. Mark DeFriest was condemned to Florida’s worst prison after a lone psychiatrist reversed the previous diagnosis of four court appointed psychiatrists and declared that Mark was faking mental illness. The documentary visits Mark over 30 years later, where he is still struggling to understand how to survive a rigid and unforgiving system. In Factual Entertainment, the broadcaster has acquired America Over the Edge (13×60’; 4K and HD), which gives an aerial view of the United States’ diverse coastlines; and The Weapon Hunter, Seasons 1 and 2 (12×60’; HD), hosted by rock n’ roll promoter and expert swordsman, Paul Schull as he tracks down the finest military specimens and North America’s most collectible artifacts. Sales across the distributor’s Nature & Wildlife offering include Africa’s Underwater Wonders (5×60’; 4K and HD), which dives underwater, unlike ever before, exploring the treasure trove of fauna, flora and vital ecosystems that make their home under the sea; Camp Zambia production, Tales from Zambia (7×60’; 4K and HD), which features Zambia’s exotic wildlife.  

For its Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic networks, AMC Networks International has picked up a large 28-hour package of content including the male-skewed series, Fish of the Day (10×30’; HD). The Remi Winner of the 2016 Worldfest Houston International Film Festival is a one-of-a-kind fish-to-feast series exploring the most stunning locations and breathtaking culinary creations in the South Pacific. Viewers will join Clarke Gayford as he, and some of the world’s best rodmen, offer tips and tricks for a successful expedition and learn how best to prepare their awe-inspiring finds. The media company has also added the female-skewed real-estate series What’s For Sale With a View? (26×30’; HD), potential homebuyers are presented three dream houses with incredible, jaw-dropping views. Rounding out the package are titles from the distributor’s Nature and Wildlife category, including the Jackson Hole award-winning documentary, Jago: A Life Underwater (1×60’; 4K and HD) and programming from Blink Films’ productions in Australia: Secret Life of the Kangaroo (3×60’; HD), Secret Life of the Koala (2×60’; HD), Secret Life of the Tasmanian Devil (2×60’; HD) and Secret Life of the Wombat (2×60’; HD).

Blue Ant International has also licensed a series of large-scale, female-skewed lifestyle packages to Polsat Cafe (Poland) and TV2 (Hungary). Polsat Cafe has opted for a 25+ hour package that includes Candice Tells All, Season 6 (13×30’; HD), featuring the interior design queen with her finger on the pulse of industry trends, new mediums, and art forms; Post My Party (13×30’; HD), where event planner extraordinaire Lynzie Kent guides a lucky party host through a series of handmade projects as they DIY their way through some of the most creative Pinterest-inspired party designs; Holiday Makeover (6×30’; HD), which introduces viewers to holiday experts, Alison, Denise and Adjoa, who design perfectly planned parties with their crafting, baking and decorating savvy; and select episodes from Celebrity Legacies (6×30’; HD) and Celebrity Damage Control (8×60’; HD). Meanwhile, TV2 has selected a 25 hour programming package for its female audience, which includes Post My Party (13×30’: HD), Holiday Makeover(6×30’; HD) and Taste of the Country (13×30’; HD). The media company has also added Wheels That Fail (18×30’; HD) to its purchase.

Beaver TV (Russia) has acquired two lifestyle series from designer Sarah Richardson’s franchise, including Sarah Off the Grid (6×60; HD), Season 1, a six-part lifestyle series bringing viewers along on Sarah’s attempt to build an off the grid dream home from the ground up for her most important client ever: her family; and Sarah’s Real Potential (14×30’; HD), Season 1, which takes prospective buyers on a tour of three homes with a sale-stopping disaster.

United Media (Russia) has purchased Nature and Wildlife titles, Animal Empires (6×60’; 4K and HD), which journeys to the beautiful and dangerous places that play host to wildlife’s migrations and congregations; Camp Zambia’s The Big Dry (3×60; 4K and HD), a three-part series, shot in one of Africa’s last great wildernesses: The Luangwa Valley in Zambia, and follows the challenges the valley’s wildlife must overcome during the long dry season as they await the life-giving rains; and Secret Life of the Koala (2×60’; 4K and HD).

In addition to these custom package sales, Travel and Adventure (Russia) has snapped up Bad Trip (13×60’; HD), a 13-part series that takes a look at perfectly planned family vacations that take a turn for the worse, with bug-infested hotel rooms, broken-down cruise ships and food poisoning incidents. Sold via Synchrony Media, National Sport Channel MATCH TV (Russia) has opted for Goalie: Life and Death in the Crease (1×90’; HD), a 90-minute documentary following the NHL’s legendary “Cowboy” goaltender, Clint Malarchuk, as his life flies off the rails when a player’s skate cuts his jugular vein, which nearly kills him. X-Weighted Families (26×30; HD), chronicling the trials and tribulations of individuals on a six month exercise journey, has been purchased by WP (Poland). In Slovenia, RTV has opted for The Secret History of Knitting (1×60’; HD), a one-hour knitting documentary exploring the world of knitting and its many uses throughout history.