UK-based independent content distributor Scorpion TV has closed several package deals across Eastern Europe, with sales to Poland, Estonia and Hungary proving particularly buoyant. The deals were brokered by Scorpion’s sales executive for CEE, Ben Haines.
 
iTVN — Polish broadcaster TVN’s international channel serving the Polish diaspora — continues to buy Scorpion content in volume. The latest package deal includes Borderland, a timely original series in which average Americans are confronted with the realities of illegal immigration; Shelter, an intimate look at the work of the Veterans Resource Center in California from two-time Academy Award winning director Barbara Kopple; and True Cost, a ground-breaking documentary that shows the real cost of cheap clothing. Filmed all over the world from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, the film features interviews with fashion influencers Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva.

TVP in Poland has also licensed True Cost and Dirty Games, a revealing insight into corruption in the global sports industry.
 
ERR, Estonia’s public broadcaster, has picked up range of science and current affairs titles, including best-selling science series Ever Wondered. Produced by Buto Productions in New Zealand, the show looks at the bleeding-edge of science and technology, exploring subjects as diverse as DNA, natural disasters and space. ERR has also taken Brexit Means Brexit, produced by Oxford Films for BBC One by award-winning director Patrick Forbes. The film explores the bitter battle to govern the UK following 2016’s divisive referendum vote.
 
Echo TV in Hungary has licensed 16 one-off current-affairs docs from Scorpion’s premium content catalogue destined for its recently revamped channel, which has now added factual content to its traditional news remit. Russian distribution outfit Studio U7 has also licensed a package of titles for its multi-channel YouTube VOD platform, as well as for pay-TV channels across Eastern Europe. Among the titles headed for the CEE under the deal are Ever Wondered, which looks at the bleeding-edge of science and technology, exploring subjects as diverse as DNA, natural disasters and space; Zapped: The Buzz about Mosquitoes, which reports on the battle to prevent mosquitoes from spreading disease; Sheltered in Oaks, a depiction of the endangered Iranian squirrel; and Flying Rainbow, which looks at the oriental dwarf kingfisher, one of the most enigmatic and rarely filmed birds in the world.
 
Ben Haines said: “In the last couple of years, our relationships with CEE broadcasters have deepened, because they know we have the hard-hitting, emotional documentaries their audiences love. Reflecting our buyers’ changing requirements, we’ve also diversified into science, travel, food and music content, and this is also serving us well. But what runs through all our work is quality. We’ve spent the last decade building up a catalogue of which we’re immensely proud, and that focus on premium content is now paying dividends.”