Red Bull & Beta Film pick up first network partner for JV series

Red Bull and Beta Film have partnered with the first network, Germany’s ARD/Degeto, for the ambitious cross-territory football series The Net.

At MIPTV this April Red Bull Media House and Beta Film launched a  proposition for a joint venture series that will be set in five separate territories for eight episodes each.

Series from each territory will be narratively interwoven. The concept was created by German theater director Matthias Hartmann and Plinio Bachmann.

ARD/Degeto is the first to join the project, and will produce the title for Germany. It will be named Das Netz.

Production will not start on the series until late 2019 or 2020, according to the German broadcaster.

Negotiations with broadcasters and production partners in Austria, Italy, France, the UK and the Middle East are also in process.

“The international series project The Net combines national and global narrative structures and interprets serial storytelling in a new way. Europe offers many stories that are worth telling. It is time for us to begin new collaborations at the European level in order to continue to offer our viewers unique, high-quality series on ARD.” said Degeto boss Christine Strobl.

The Net will focus on football outside the stadium. It will touch on themes such as doping, match fixing, betting, modern slavery and human trafficking.