Leading independent distributor All3Media International continues to build on its position as the go-to distributor for factual content, as it signs an 80-hour deal in CEE with AMC Networks and ships Lion Television’s renowned classical history factual specials and series to broadcasters around the world.

A major pan territory CEE deal with AMC Networks sees more than 80 hours of content heading to Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The broadcaster has selected a host of Lion Television titles including one-hour specials China: Treasures of the Jade Empire and The Great Wall of China: The Hidden Story, plus series Meet the Romans,Rome: Empire Without Limit with Mary Beard and The Story of Egypt. Also acquired from the Lion Television portfolio are series one and two of Monty Don’s Big Dreams, Small Spaces, series one of Discovering Korean Food with Gizzi Erskine, Kew on a Plate and The Spice Trail.

Further titles picked up in the AMC package include Building the Ancient City: Athens and Rome (Brave New Media), Dinosaur Britain (Maverick Television), series one and two of The Great Interior Design Challenge (Studio Lambert), The Magic of the Diary of Anne Frank (Dutch Angle) and series six of Undercover Boss USA (all3media America).

Lion Television titles continue to be picked up around the world, with all3media International concluding a host of deals for its latest classic history documentaries focusing on Ancient Egypt. China: Treasures of the Jade Empire, a Channel 4 special which sees the spectacular tombs of China’s Han Dynasty opened for the first time, has attracted acquisitions from NHK (Japan), SBS (Australia), Foxtel (Australia & New Zealand), Arte (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and French-speaking Europe), FTV Prima (Czech Republic), Viasat World (CEE and Scandinavia) and Yleisradio Oy-TV1 (Finland).

Featuring Professor Joann Fletcher, The Story of Egypt, an ambitious BBC Two documentary series spanning over 5,000 years of history, has been snapped up in more than 30 territories, including HRT (Croatia), SBS (Australia), FTV Prima (Czech Republic), Foxtel (Australia, New Zealand), Viasat World (CEE and Scandinavia), Top TV (New Zealand) and TVO (Canada). Joann Fletcher also explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in in Ancient Egypt in one-hour special Egypt’s Lost Queens for BBC Two, acquired by RTVE (Spain), Arte (Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, and German- and French-speaking Europe), Knowledge Network (English-speaking Canada), Viasat World (CEE and Scandinavia), SVT (Sweden), SBS (Australia) and TVO (Canada).

Further one-hour specials from Lion Television also notching up an impressive roster of deals include Alexandria, produced for More 4 in association with History™, which has been picked up by more than 90 territories including Czech Republic (FTV Prima) and Latvia (SIA Media 360). Caligula, for BBC Two, which accompanies historian Mary Beard as she investigates the life of one of history’s most notorious individuals, is airing in more than 80 territories worldwide, and Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer, produced in association with Brave New Media for BBC, Discovery Channel and NHK, has added Australia and New Zealand to deals totalling more than 100 territories, as Foxtel sign for debut later this year.

Meanwhile, focusing on more recent history, Lion Television’s landmark co-production Franklin’s Lost Ships has arrived in more than 25 territories, with Arte (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and French- and German-speaking Europe), Foxtel (Australia, New Zealand), FTV Prima (Czech Republic), ZDF (Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, German-speaking Switzerland and Luxembourg) amongst a roster of new broadcasters. Franklin’s Lost Ships, which is produced by Lion Television and 90th Parallel for CBC Canada and Radio Canada, PBS Nova/WGBH, Channel 4 and all3media International, uses state-of-the-art technology to unravel one of the greatest mysteries in the history of exploration – the disappearance of Sir John Franklin’s ships in the Arctic’s Northwest Passage in 1845.