Following last month’s announcement that Corus Entertainment had inked an exclusive deal for the rights to Peacock originals, the Toronto-based media company is further beefing up its content offerings through a new deal for Sky Studios originals.

Corus inked the multi-year volume output deal with NBCUniversal Global Distribution, which has handled international sales for Sky Studios since October 2019.

The deal includes Intelligence, Devils and Bulletproof (pictured) and will see the Sky Studios originals launching on Corus’ suite of specialty channels later in the year.

The acquired programming will give Corus additional flexibility as it looks to build out a robust schedule while contending with the uncertainty of the ongoing production shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking last month during a conference call announcing Corus’ third-quarter results, CEO and president Doug Murphy said in-the-can content is crucial as network mainstays such as New Amsterdam, FBI and Prodigal Son shift into mid-season, and potentially beyond.

While domestic broadcasters have scrambled to fill their schedules with acquired programming, they have also secured high-profile sales of Canadian series to international networks and buyers. Corus Studios has unveiled a number of deals in recent months.

In May, Corus Studios sold Island of Bryan (produced by Si Entertainment in association with HGTV Canada) to HGTV in the U.S. More recently, Corus revealed that HGTV had acquired Scott’s Vacation House Rules (McGillivray Entertainment) and Making it Home with Kortney & Dave (Scott Brothers Entertainment), while Food Network picked up Fire Masters and The Big Bake (both produced by Nikki Ray Media).

In total, Corus said it has sold 85 hours of content to Discovery’s flagship networks since the pandemic closed sets across North America and Europe in March.

Image courtesy of Sky Studios/Vertigo Films