Factual

In the week that commemorates ten years since one of the worst maritime disasters in living memory, Beyond Rights announces that it has licensed ITN Productions’ two-hour investigative documentary, The Costa Concordia: Why She Sank, to several international broadcasters.

In Europe, initial deals have been struck with TF1 in France, Discovery in Italy, TV2 in Norway, SVT in Sweden, RTL in the Netherlands, VTM in Belgium, Ceska TV in the Czech Republic and WP1 in Poland. While in Australia, the title has been acquired by SBS.

Produced by ITN Productions for Channel 5 in the UK, The Costa Concordia: Why She Sank is the definitive story of the sinking of the Costa Concordia, which happened off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, on 13th January 2012. It combines exclusive first-person testimony from survivors and rescuers with previously unseen footage, graphic reconstruction, and expert insight to tell the astonishing story of what happened on the night in forensic detail.

There were 4000 people on board, and while a dramatic rescue mission saved thousands of lives, 32 people would die. Captain Francesco Schettino, who abandoned his ship, was blamed and ultimately found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The cruise ship company, Costa Cruises, was also heavily criticised but did not face criminal charges. While detailing precisely how the Costa Concordia sank, the series also looks to answer pertinent questions: Was this a tragedy waiting to happen? Should lessons have been learned from previous disasters? And could it happen again?

“Ten years on, The Costa Concordia: Why She Sank provides a compelling and insightful look at this shocking event”, says Holly Cowdery, Beyond Rights’ VP sales for France and CEEMEA. “ITN Productions has an enviable reputation for creating top-quality factual programming. With this new series, it continues to demonstrate its investigative prowess by revealing new information, and cleverly weaves together details on a story that we thought we knew into something fresh and totally gripping. We are delighted that so many broadcasters share our view of this fascinating series and are confident that these early deals will be the first of many.”