KO Distribution and Munich-based distributor Aroma TV have secured several option deals for Montreal-based Lustitia Productions’ original format Extreme Couples Challenge (pictured).

The 8 x 46-minute series, produced by Lustitia in collaboration with Bell Media, sees a couple parachuted into a testing environment where they must tackle more than 36 hours of survival challenges.

The format has been optioned by Seapoint in Germany, Coyote Conseil in France and Solar Republic OY in Finland.

Extreme Couples Challenge premiered in August 2023 on Bell Media’s Canal Vie. The series was financed with the support of the Quebecor Fund.

Radio-Canada

Radio-Canada has pre-bought rights to Pernel Media’s feature documentary Rise of Birds – Dinosaurs Among Us.

The science doc is produced by Paris- and London-based prodco Pernel Media, with PBS GBH’s NOVA and CCTV9 in China as coproducers. France Télévisions commissioned the film.

Additional international buyers include Ushuaïa TV in France and NHK Enterprise in Japan, while Germany’s ZDF Studios has the remaining world rights and will be in charge of the global distribution, according to a news release.

Rise of Birds – Dinosaurs Among Us is being produced in 90-, 100- and 52-minute formats and in six different languages. The series explores the latest discoveries on the evolution of dinosaurs into modern-day birds.

WildBrain

Toronto-headquartered WildBrain has picked up global sales rights to the Canada-Ireland-Belgium copro Louise Lives Large.

The 8 x 24-minute series is produced by Toronto’s Vérité Films, Ireland’s Tailored Films, and Belgium’s Storyhouse, and follows the story of a newly cancer-free teen as she embarks on a mission to make up for lost time.

Family Channel, Ireland’s RTÉ and Belgium’s Ketnet commissioned the series, which is aimed at 9 to 13-year-olds.

WildBrain will be launching sales of Louise Lives Large at the Kidscreen Summit in February, according to a news release.

OUTtv 

Vancouver-based LGBTQ+ network OUTtv has inked a deal with Channelbox to distribute its international free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel OUTtv Proud in the U.K. via Freeview.

OUTtv Proud, created by OUTtv and Latino-owned Fuse Media and launched in 2023, features more than 400 hours of content including OUTtv originals Call Me Mother, Hot Haus, and For The Love of DILFs.

The deal follows an agreement with Netgem TV in 2023 which saw OUTtv Proud launch in the U.K. and Ireland.

Alibi Music

Los Angeles-headquartered production music company Alibi Music has signed on Toronto-based Cadence Music Group to exclusively represent and license its catalogue in Canada.

Alibi provides royalty-free music and sound effects for license in programming, advertising, trailers, promos, video games and other multimedia content. Its catalogue includes more than 400,000 audio files.

Photo courtesy of Lustitia Productions