Onza Distribution announces new sales in Central and Eastern Europe

Onza Distribution has sold several telenovela and fiction titles in its catalog in key territories in Central and Eastern Europe: Onza Distribution’s telenovelas ‘Forever’ and ‘Unlimited Love’ will travel to Serbia for the first time, whereas ‘Payback’ will renew its presence in Serbia, and ‘Cacao’ will have its premiere in Lithuania. On the other hand, TV fiction series ‘Motel Valkirias’, ‘Parot’, ‘Little Coincidences’ and ‘Flowers Over The Inferno’ will soon be available in Romania.

The international sales agency thus strengthens its presence in these regions. In addition to this, Onza Distribution is attending NEM Dubrovnik and NATPE Budapest markets, where it will seal new deals in these territories.

Onza Distribution started very well the 2024’s sales cycle, with ‘Cacao’ leading the way. Since its premiere last January on TVI in Portugal, and after being #1 prime time in Portugal ever since, the telenovela has already been acquired in Spain, CIS and Baltics, while important deals are still in negotiation in several other countries. ‘Forever’, ‘Payback’ and ‘Unlimited Love’ keeps engaging audiences all over the world, after being seen in the Balkans, LATAM or the US. Onza’s telenovelas has also amassed big success in awards, such as the International Emmys, which granted the Best Telenovela to ‘Payback’ in 2018 and a nomination for ‘Forever’ in 2023.

Onza’s original productions, such as ‘Parot’ and ‘Little Coincidences’ keep travelling to CIS, Eastern Europe or France. In Spain, ‘Parot’ has managed to hit again the #8 spot on Amazon Prime Video’s ranking of most-watched TV shows 3 years after its premiere. Along with these titles, Onza Distribution will present to the CEE and Balkan markets the main novelties of its catalog, such as ‘Heartless’, which premiered last April on the #2 ranking in Prime Video Spain, the Czech period drama ‘Golden Swan’, and new seasons of Italian hit series ‘Flowers Over The Inferno’ and of ‘Sweet Strawberries’.

Regarding ‘Motel Valkirias’, produced by CTV in association with SPi, its sale to the Antena group in Romania comes shortly

after the news of its silver medal in the Drama category at the New York Festivals. The Galician-Portuguese series has already been broadcast through HBO Spain and Portugal, the Portuguese public channel RTP, Galicia’s TVG or through the main channels of the Brazilian group Globosat.

‘Flowers Over The Inferno’ seals the deal for three new sales

Thriller series ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’, distributed by Onza Distribution, has closed three new deals this spring with the Public Broadcaster SBS Australia, Walter Presents (division of Global Series Network) in the UK, and Antenaplay, the SVOD platform from Antena TV Group Romania. Other offers are also being considered – some in advanced stages of negotiation in the rest of Europe.

Based on the best-selling 4-book saga by Ilaria Tuti and produced by PUBLISPEI (the independent production company who brought the long running series in Italy in 1998: Un ‘Medico in Famiglia’, ‘I Cesaroni’). The first season (6×60′) of this crime series follows the events from the first book, where the profiler Teresa Battaglia must find the serial killer who kills in defense of helpless children, while facing her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. It premiered on the Italian public channel RAI 1, recording a viewership of 25.49% share, and amassing an average of 24.96%.

The second season, also based on the second book of the saga ‘Sleeping Nymph’, is currently in post-production and will premiere in the Fall of 2024. We’ll follow again the profiler Teresa Battaglia facing a complex case of murder, this time in the landscapes of the Resia Valley, at the foot of the Alps.

“We are very proud to partner with these prestigious broadcasters and we believe the announcement of the second season is helping to add more interest to the series throughout the world” – comments Béatrice Nouh, Head of Sales at Onza Distribution.

With the second season yet to premiere, Onza Distribution will bring this hit Italian series to the main markets in 2024, along with other new releases such as ‘Heartless’, Onza’s premium thriller and the second most watched series on Spain Amazon Prime since its premiere on April 19, TVI’s telenovela ‘Cacao’, recently acquired by Mediaset España, ‘Golden Swan’, a Czech period drama produced by NOVA, recently added to Onza Distribution’s catalogue or ‘Allende The Thousand Days’, recently acquired by OCS in France and with new sales in current negotiation.

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.

Onza Distribution sells the successful series “Crimes” to ZDF

Onza Distribution confirms the sale of Crimes, Spain’s most successful true crime series, to the German television network ZDF. Crimes spans three seasons with a total of 36 episodes. The latest season premiered this year, garnering massive viewership ratings.

Just a year ago, Onza Distribution announced that Crimes, already considered the most successful true crime series in Spain, was joining their catalog to make its leap into the international market after its triumphant run on TV3 and Movistar. Now, the distributor announces the sale of the series, created by Carles Porta and produced by Goroka and True Crime Factory, to the German television channel ZDF.

“We look forward to presenting this series to the German audience on TV and also in our media library. The high-quality design and the insight into investigative activities in Spain and Catalonia complement ZDFinfo’s true crime portfolio,” commented representatives from the network.

The latest season of the series, premiered on TV3 this year, has broken all historical audience records, with a 30.9% share in its first episode and over a million viewers, with more than 35% of them being a young audience.

“The great success that Crimes has achieved in Spain since the airing of its first episode has attracted the attention of many international buyers,” comments Carlos Garde, General Manager of Onza. “It is a true crime series that has succeeded due to its high production quality and the public’s interest in these stories. We have witnessed that it is an addictive show that captivates the viewer and keeps them on edge until the very end.”

This true crime series covers over 40 real crimes from the past 10 years, and unlike other series in the same genre, it doesn’t feature experts discussing the crimes. Instead, it is the actual protagonists who narrate their involvement in the events, either because they experienced them firsthand or investigated them. Thus, Crimes aims to shed light on the darkness through the direct or indirect testimonies of those who lived through each of these stories.

Onza Distribution sells “Payback” to Uruguayan Channel 4

Onza Distribution confirms the sale of Payback, International Emmy winner, to Channel 4, Uruguay. During its first broadcast month, the telenovela boasts an average of 41% share.

Onza Distribution has announced some of its most recent sales, including telenovela Payback, to Channel 4, Uruguay. The Uruguayan channel recently premiered this TVI production with excellent audience numbers.

Payback (Ouro Verde) is the story of Ze, played by renowned actor Diogo Morgado, returns home, after being missing for years, with a false identity and a single goal: to avenge the death of his family. His plans get complicated when he meets Beatriz (Joana de Verona), his first love and the daughter of the person who murdered his family.

Payback, winner of International Emmy for Telenovela, premiered on Uruguayan Channel 4 December 26th 2022 with considerable viewing figures, reaching an average share of 41% during its first broadcast month.

“We are very satisfied with the reception Payback is receiving. It’s a great telenovela that has surprised audiences with both great production values and a story that is captivating right from the start,” reports Mariano Mosca, Channel 4 Head of Marketing and Content Strategy. “Since premiering in December, it has had great results on the channel. We are very happy to have opted for this production from TVI and Onza, as it shows that Portuguese telenovelas can excite our audience the same way a Turkish telenovela can – or even more so”.

This is one of the telenovelas in Onza’s Distribution catalog, available in neutral Spanish, alongside other TVI productions such as The Gipsy Heiress, The Pretender and Unlimited Love.

“The excellent reception in Uruguay by a telenovela like Payback reaffirms how important the Latin American market is for us,” adds Carlos Garde, Onza General Manager. “Payback had been released with great success in Latin America, in Brazil on channels like Bandeirantes and on platforms like Globoplay. Before that, it had traveled not only to European countries like Poland and France, but to more complicated territories such as the Middle East (UAE, Lebanon, etc.). We have also sold it to African countries such as Algeria, Morocco and Angola, and even Asian countries like China. It’s clear that Portuguese telenovelas have universal characteristics that allow them to travel easily and interest a large number of viewers from all continents and cultures”.

A few weeks ago, during Content Americas, the Spanish distributor demonstrated its continuing faith in a varied catalog that can reach customers anywhere in the world by announcing the addition of new productions, including documentary series Osel (4×50′) and Christmas romantic comedy Christmas Eve (1×80′).