Onza Distribution sells ‘El Hormiguero’ to the new live streaming channel OLGA in Argentina.

Onza Distribution has reached an agreement to sell the adaptation rights for El Hormiguero (The Anthill), one of the most successful television shows in the history of Spanish and Latin American TV. The deal was struck with OLGA, a new live-streaming platform and one of the most-watched channels among young people in Argentina.

This deal adds to other major sales of the format in 2024: earlier this year, Onza Distribution sold the show’s ready-made version to Estrella TV in the United States. After several years of negotiations, they also reached an agreement with Mediaset Italia to adapt El Hormiguero for the Italian market. The format has already been successfully adapted in various countries, including Brazil, Mexico, and Portugal.

El Hormiguero and 7 y Acción

Hosted by Pablo Motos and broadcast on Antena 3 every Monday through Thursday night, El Hormiguero is Spain’s most successful prime-time show, now in its 19th season since its debut in 2006.

“El Hormiguero is a perfect example of how Spanish formats can be adapted and succeed worldwide,” said Carlos Garde, Managing Director of Onza. “We’re thrilled that it’s now arriving in Argentina, a country with a rich television tradition that we know will appreciate this unique format and add its own local flair. We can’t wait to see the ants speaking with an Argentine accent.”

The production company behind El Hormiguero, 7 y Acción, led by Jorge Salvador and Pablo Motos, has created other successful shows featured in Onza Distribution’s catalog. These include El Desafío (The Celeb Challenge), a Friday night prime-time leader set to launch its fifth season in 2025, and El Camino a Casa (The Way Home), a format also sold by Onza to Telefe, the leading channel in Argentina, with the production and airing of its local Argentine version expected in the first quarter of 2025.

Production of El Hormiguero in Argentina

The production of El Hormiguero in Argentina will be handled by OLGA with support from Onza Américas. Producers are currently designing the studio in Buenos Aires, where the show will be broadcast live daily. The host will be announced soon.

“We understand the vital role Pablo Motos plays in the format, and we want the Argentine host to also have great charisma,” said Carlos Garde. “This host will need to excel at conducting engaging interviews while bringing the energy and joy that make each episode a fun experience with the guests, the ants, and the surprising experiments and performances featured every night.”

Onza Distribution expands its international presence with new fiction sales in key territories

Onza Distribution has closed deals for several telenovelas, such as ‘Cacao’, ‘Forever,’ and ‘Value of Life.’

‘Heartless’ and ‘Flowers Over the Inferno,’ two titles from Onza Distribution’s catalog, have been acquired by RTP (Portugal) and AntenaPLAY, part of Antena TV Group Romania.

The Spanish international sales agency has also sold ‘Traffic Jam’ to AntenaPLAY and ‘Allende, The 1000 Days’ to Canais TVCine (Portugal).

During this MIPCOM, Onza Distribution announced sales of several key titles from its catalog to Portugal, Romania, Croatia, Latvia, and Mozambique. Among the most relevant productions are telenovelas like ‘Cacao’ and ‘Forever’, as well as recent hits like ‘Heartless’, ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’, ‘Traffic Jam’ and ‘Allende, The 1000 Days’.

Another Sale for TVI’s Telenovelas

‘Cacao’ (220×50’) has been sold to Croatian broadcaster HRT, in addition to the 70 countries where the Portuguese series will air, such as Spain and Lithuania. This compelling story centers on a young woman named Cacao, whose life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers her real father is the owner of the cocoa farm she lives in. This revelation triggers a series of intrigues, as Cacao becomes a threat to the other heirs. Her life is in danger, but Tiago, a handsome young man she falls in love with, will do everything he can to protect her from her enemies.

Onza Distribution has also secured deals for the sale of other TVI telenovelas, such as ‘Forever’ (205×50’), sold to Helio Media in Latvia, and ‘Value of Life’ (207×50’), which will air in Mozambique soon.

‘Heartless’ y ‘Flowers over the inferno’ sold to RTP and AntenaPLAY

The thriller series ‘Heartless’ (8×45’), produced by Onza, which reached number 2 on Prime Video Series during its premiere in Spain, has been acquired by Portugal’s public broadcaster RTP and the streaming platform AntenaPLAY, part of Antena TV Group Romania. The series follows a ruthless kidnapper who targets the business elite of Madrid, torturing them through cruel psychological games. Haro, an aristocrat imprisoned for rape and murder, becomes a key figure in the investigation. He offers to cooperate with the authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence, though his true aim is to seek revenge on the judge who sentenced him.

The acclaimed Italian series ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’ (6×60’), first case of the profiler Teresa Battaglia, has also been sold to RTP and AntenaPLAY, including its new second season, ‘Sleeping Nymph’ (6×60’), which was added to Onza Distribution’s catalog for MIPCOM and will premiere on RAI1 on October 28. Produced by Publispei and based on the homonymous bestseller by Ilaria Tuti, the thriller follows the profiler Teresa Battaglia as she solves crimes in the Alps while battling Alzheimer at an early stage. In the new season, a young police officer is found dead after investigating her father’s alleged crime, which is tied to a series of murders and a mysterious painting called ‘The Sleeping Nymph.’

‘Allende, the 1000 days’ sold to Canais TVCine

‘Allende, The 1000 Days’ (4×50’), a drama that revisits the final years of Chilean president Salvador Allende’s life, has been sold to Canais TVCine (NOS) in Portugal. The series, which won a Platino Award for Alfredo Castro’s portrayal of Allende, has captured global attention for its powerful historical narrative. This political drama, produced by Chilean company Parox, has already been sold in several countries.

‘Traffic Jam’ sold to AntenaPLAY

Additionally, ‘Traffic Jam’ (6×25’), a comedy produced by Onza that brings together some of Spain’s top comedians and reached number one on Prime Video Spain during its premiere, has been acquired by Romania’s AntenaPLAY. The series depicts a traffic jam that disrupts the plans of thousands of citizens: thieves who won’t make it to the jewelry store they plan to rob, a couple crisis between two crane operators, an ambulance driver desperately seeking a bathroom, and a food truck that won’t reach its destination. These comical, unexpected, and emotional stories unfold on the road, featuring a cast of 25 of Spain’s leading comedy actors.

Mediaset Italia Acquires the Rights to Adapt the Hit Show ‘The Anthill’

Mediaset Italia has acquired the adaptation rights to the popular Spanish show ‘The Anthill’ (‘El Hormiguero’), aiming to develop an Italian version for the 2024/2025 season.

This agreement with Mediaset follows Onza Distribution‘s successful sale of the show’s ready made version to Estrella TV in the United States earlier this year. After several years of negotiations in Italy, Onza Distribution has finalized an agreement with Mediaset this month to adapt ‘The Anthill’ for the Italian market. This format has already been successfully adapted in several countries, including Brazil, Mexico, and Portugal.

‘The Anthill’ (‘El Hormiguero’) is the most successful prime time show in Spain, accumulating 18 seasons since its inception in 2006. Hosted by Pablo Motos, it airs on Antena 3 four times a week. The production company of ‘The Anthill,’ 7 y Acción, has also created other successful shows that are included in the Onza Distribution catalog. Among them are ‘The Celeb Challenge,’ prime time leader on Fridays with 4 seasons aired in Spain, and ‘The Way Home,’ a format recently acquired by Telefe Argentina. For its Italian version of ‘The Anthill,’ Mediaset is working on a weekly prime time broadcast on its channel Italia 1.

“At Onza Distribution, we are very excited to see one of our hit formats being adapted by such a prestigious channel with a strong commitment to entertainment production in Europe,” said Béatrice Nouh, Head of Sales at Onza Distribution. “This demonstrates the value of ‘The Anthill’ as a format, and we firmly believe this news can once again boost the format in the international market. We wish the future Italian version all the possible success!”

New deals for Onza Distribution’s documentaries ‘Young Addictions’ and ‘Real Madrid: The White Legend’

Onza Distribution confirms the sale of the documentary series ‘Young Addictions’ in Germany (ZDF), Belgium (RTBF), Slovenia (RTV Slovenija), Portugal (CNN Portugal) and the pan-regional territory of MENA (Al Jazeera). The Spanish distributor announces that ‘Real Madrid: The White Legend’, also produced by Onza, has been acquired by Croatia’s HRT. 

Onza Distribution announces new sales for documentaries ‘Young Addictions’ and ‘Real Madrid: The White Legend’, both produced by Onza. ‘Young Addictions’ (Adictos a la pantalla, 3×45’/1×52′), a documentary series portraying the reality of young people’s addictions to new technologies, has been acquired by ZDF in Germany, Al Jazeera for the pan-regional territory of MENA, Belgian channel RTBF, RTV Slovenija and CNN Portugal.

‘Real Madrid, The White Legend’ (Real Madrid: la leyenda blanca, 6×50′), co-produced by Onza and Morrigan Films, will travel to Croatia thanks to HRT. It already landed at MENA territories in 2023. Onza’s remarkable sports title, released two years ago on Prime Video Spain – who was also a nominee for Best Sports Title at the 2023 Venice TV Awards -, continues to receive new offers in new regions.

During the week of Sunny Side of the Doc, Onza Distribution proves to be a landmark as a documentaries distributor and widens its catalog with important acquisitions such as Wakai‘s sports documentaries (‘Thibaut Courtois: A Real Madrid Story’, ‘FC Barcelona: A New Era’, ‘Marc Marquez: All In’ or ‘Simeone: Living Match by Match’), as well as other titles of various genres, such as nature, culture or social research,that will be revealed very soon.

“At Onza Distribution we want to promote documentaries that can be both commercial and appealing to the public, so they fall in line to the needs of the market and our clients, with quality always as our priority” comments Béatrice Nouh, Head of Sales at Onza Distribution. “We represent independent production companies with talent and a lot of topics to discuss. They are capable of captivating international audiences.”

 

Onza Distribution sells TV miniseries ‘Allende The Thousand Days’ to France’s OCS

Onza Distribution just announced the sale of the highly anticipated miniseries ‘Allende The Thousand Days’ to France’s OCS. The channel, now part of the Canal+ group, will broadcast the 4 episodes of the miniseries in the first quarter of 2024.

‘Allende The Thousand Days’ is a historical drama recollecting the last years of former Chilean president Salvador Allende and his political aim in the thousand days that his presidency lasted. The series represents an important testimony committed to democracy with the purpose of reinforcing historical memory.

The series was broadcast for the first time in Chile (TVN & Riivi) and Argentina (TV Pública) last September – also the month of the San Sebastian Film Festival premiere on an exclusive screening in the days that followed the coup’s 50^th anniversary. It will be broadcast on a double-episode marathon next Wednesday 21^st February on Spain’s TVE.

This announcement comes shortly after the good news of its 5 pre-selections at the 2024 Platino Awards. The series is a co-production of Parox, who already received the Best Miniseries award at the Prix Europa awards for ‘Invisible Heroes‘, which was broadcast on YLE in 2019, in association with Mediterráneo Media (Spain) and Aleph (Argentina).

“I am pleased that our great series ‘Allende The Thousand Days’ will be seen on OCS in France starting March 24^th, a premium channel betting on quality international series; this proves that the story of Salvador Allende still resonates in our international History”, says Béatrice Nouh, Head of Sales at Onza Distribution.