Corus inks key factual deals ahead of MIPCOM

Corus Studios sold 20 hour-long episodes of its competition series Fire Masters to Cooking Channel in the U.S., in addition to licensing nine other shows globally.

Corus Entertainment has been busy in the international sales market in the lead-up to MIPCOM, with the Toronto-headquartered media company inking deals for 10 of its unscripted properties through its Corus Studios banner.

Among them, Corus sold its grilling competition series Fire Masters (20 x 60 minutes, Architect Films) to Cooking Channel in the U.S. and A+E Networks in the U.K.

The Fire Masters sale is a significant one and represents the first time a Corus Studios food property has been licensed to one of Discovery’s U.S. networks, according to a spokesperson for Corus. The announcement comes six weeks after Corus Studios inked its first-ever worldwide deal with Netflix for the factual show Rust Valley Restorers (Mayhem Entertainment).

Meanwhile, in a pre-broadcast deal, Corus licensed its demolition show Salvage Kings (10 x 60 minutes, Media Headquarters) to A+E Networks in the U.K., Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, Poland and Romania.

Docuseries Big Rig Warriors (Attraction Images) was licensed to Foxtel in Australia, A&E Networks-owned pay TV channel FYI and A+E Networks in Italy, while History Erased (Cream Productions) sold to Foxtel in Australia and New Zealand and HISTORIA in Spain and Portugal.

Corus Studios also inked deals for a number of its home and renovation titles, including Buying the View (Our House Media), Masters of Flip (Rhino Content), Backyard Builds (Frantic Films), Home to Win (Architect Films) and Island of Bryan (Si Entertainment), the latter of which became HGTV Canada’s highest rated series in a decade when it premiered earlier this year.

The first season of Island of Bryan was picked up by Foxtel in Australia, TVA-owned specialty channel CASA for French Canada and Israel’s Talit Communication. Seasons one and two of $ave My Reno (Great Pacific Media) were picked up by FYI, while season two of the series was acquired by The Home Channel in South Africa. As well, Corus sold seasons one and two of Backyard Builds to M6 France, Buying the View to UKTV, season three of Home to Win to Foxtel in Australia and season four of Masters of Flip to Discovery in Germany. ITVBe in the U.K. also licensed seasons one through four of Masters of Flip, while Brazil’s Globosat picked up seasons three and four of the show.

On the lifestyle and fashion front, Stitched (Forté Entertainment) was bought by Discovery in Latin America and A+E Networks Lifetime in Africa. Corus also noted in a press release that its travel food shows Bakers Sisters (Alibi Entertainment) and Big Food Bucket List (Lone Eagle Entertainment) have sold to an undisclosed buyer in the pan-Asian market.