MUMBAI: In a major licensing deal, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and ProSiebenSat.1 have extended their existing licensing deal.
Thus ProSiebenSat.1 will continue to hold the exclusive free TV rights to Hollywood blockbusters and successful television series produced by the US studio for years to come. Movies such as Batman vs. Superman, Tarzan and King Arthur are among the highlights of the deal that have already been announced.
Furthermore, the trilogy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling, will be aired by the broadcasting group. German movie productions like Der geilste Tag with Matthias Schweighofer and Florian David Fitz are also part of the deal.
The agreement will also enable ProSiebenSat.1 to significantly enhance its range of TV series: The latest Warner Bros. productions are among the highest-rated series aired on ProSiebenSat.1 stations. The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men regularly obtain above-average market shares.
The extension of the agreement also gives ProSiebenSat.1 continued access to the extensive Warner library including the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter movies, the cult movie The Hangover and the superhero movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG executive vice president, group programming acquisitions Rüdiger Böss said, “Movies and series from Warner Bros. are among the best of our industry. We have been collaborating for many years and Warner productions are regularly rated highly by our viewers. I am therefore delighted that we have managed to continue this extraordinary partnership and thus to secure many attractive film and series productions for the coming years.”
Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution: “We have long enjoyed a mutually-beneficial relationship with ProSiebenSat.1, which provides a terrific platform for our series and films. This latest agreement between our companies speaks for the quality of our films and television series as well as for the healthy appetite of German TV viewers for good programming.”
Licensing acquisitions across all platforms from free TV to video-on-demand and mobile is getting strategically more and more important for ProSiebenSat.1. Therefore, the division Content Acquisitions has been part of the executive department of Conrad Albert since 1 January, 2015. Conrad Albert continues also to be responsible for the areas Legal, Distribution and Regulatory Affairs.
