News round-up: ProgramBuyer, ONE launch free offers; Wowow orders more ‘Cold Case’; All3 adds Covid-19 show

ProgramBuyer unveils free MIPTV service

Screening service ProgramBuyer is launching a new, free feature for content sellers unable to meet with buyers at the cancelled MIPTV, which had been due to take place next week.

Launching on 30 March, the new ‘MIP Releases’ feature on the ProgramBuyer portal allows distributors to showcase all of the new content that would have launched in Cannes.

The ProgramBuyer team will upload information and screeners on individual distributor branded pages, with each show tagged and searchable. The service is being offered free of charge including those who are not current subscribers.

Roz Parker, ProgramBuyer co-founder, said: “Every industry is having its own unique challenges at the moment but ProgramBuyer is perfectly placed to continue supporting the buying and selling of global content from desktops.

“The swift addition of this new feature will help ensure that all the new programming that would have launched in Cannes can still be promoted, supplementing the on-going marketing efforts of the distributors’ teams.”

ONE Lite goes free for distributors

More good news for distributors, as ONE is offering free access to the Lite version of its content platform to provide support following the cancellation of MIPTV.

ONE Lite will be available for free for a month, allowing distributors to add up to 100 programmes so that they can still share content with buyers and run remote meetings during the period when the Cannes event had been due to take place.

Paul Thrush, ONE director, said: “We understand the importance of markets, having attended for the last seven years, and the impact of MIPTV being cancelled will hit a lot of distributors, especially smaller ones who don’t have access to the right technology to support them.

“We want to do everything we can to empower distributors to continue connecting with their buyers and selling content.”

Cold Case Japan

Wowow extends Cold Case remake

Japanese broadcaster Wowow has ordered a third season of its local-language adaptation of US crime drama Cold Case.

The new season, titled Cold Case: The Door To The Truth, is being produced by Wowow in partnership with Warner Bros. International Television Production and is expected to air on the network later this year.

The 10-episode order will bring the series total to 30, which Wowow said was “the requisite number for global licensing and distribution deals.”

Starring, Yoshida Yo, Nagayama Kento and Takito Kenichi, the series follows the work of officers at Kanagawa Prefectural Police Investigation Division 1 and is based upon the Kathryn Morris-fronted series of the same name that originally aired in the US on CBS from 2003 to 2010.

The success of the Cold Case remake has been credited with sparking a trend of Japanese networks remaking American dramas, such as Suits and The Good Wife, with an adaptation of 24 also in the works.

All3 adds Parable’s Covid-19 doc

Parable’s one-off documentary Coronavirus: How To Self Isolate has been picked up for global distribution by All3Media International.

The 1 x 60-minute documentary, which was the highest rated show of the day when broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 yesterday, focuses on how best to manage self isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The project marks All3Media International’s latest collaboration with Parable, following its distribution of the documentary Extreme Everest With Ant Middleton.