Industry

Beta Group and Australian public broadcaster SBS have extended their ongoing partnership and have agreed on a multi-year license deal. SBS gains access to multiple series and films of Beta’s extensive catalogue on an annual basis. Event series Sisi (12x1h, STORY HOUSE Pictures/RTL/Beta Film) headlines SBS’ first selection, alongside 2022’s Canneseries entry El Inmortal – Gangs of Madrid (8x1h, Movistar Plus+/Telemundo Int. Studios/ DLO Producciones), MIPDrama 2022 winner House of Promises (12x1h, X-Filme Creative Pool/RTL+) and more series and feature films.

Peter Andrews, Head of Network Programming at SBS, said: “We’re thrilled to continue to grow our partnership with Beta, which will deliver an exciting line-up of internationally acclaimed series and films showcasing some of the best content from around the world. Our audiences love to dive into drama that explores cultures, languages, and compelling stories, and our partnership with Beta continues to deliver all that and more for Australians.” 

Nikolaus Sivaloganathan, VP International Sales & Acquisitions Asia, Australia and New Zealand, added: “This multi-year licensing deal has firmly cemented our relationship with SBS, our longstanding partner in Australia. We are excited to bring even more high-end content to an audience that truly appreciates unique European stories made for the global market.”

Also included in the first slate of series titles are the crime drama Divided We Stand (6x1h, Gabriela Sperl Produktion/W&B/Wilma Film/ARD/MDR/ARD Degeto), set in newly united Germany, and Silent Road (13x1h, Mega TV/Filmiki productions), a suspenseful crime drama from Greece that Zappit called “the best Greek series”. Further, the German series Breaking Point (6x1h, Tivoli Film Produktion/Mona Film Produktion/ZDFneo/ORF) is part of the deal, a show where each episode follows the individual fates of five characters and asks the question: Who went on a killing spree in a shopping mall?

In addition to this already diverse catalogue there is the coming-of-age story of a young football player, Golden Boy (5x1h, Fantastika Film Studio/Telekom Serbia), as well as the biographical limited series De Gaulle (6x1h, EFFERVESCENCE FICTION/FRANCE TELEVISION) and the third installment of The Wall (8x1h, Pixcom).

SBS also brings the critically acclaimed feature film My Little Sister (2h, Vega Film AG/RTS Radio Télévision Suisse/SRG SSR/ARTE G.E.I.E.), starring award-winning actress Nina Hoss and Lars Eidinger,  the Romy Schneider biopic 3 Days in Quiberon (2h, Rohfilm/Dor Film/Sophie Dulac Productions/Tita B. Productions/Departures Film/NDR/Arte/ORF), as well as “impressive” (Variety) World War I thriller Hinterland (2h, FreibeuterFilm/Amour Fou/Scope Pictures/Lieblingsfilm), by Oscar-winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky to Australia, amongst others.