NFB launches SVOD service on Vimeo

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has launched a new SVOD service powered by video-sharing website Vimeo.

NFB Shorts On Demand will provide subscribers with access to NFB-produced non-fiction and animated content across all Internet-connected devices. Films will also be available for purchase à la carte, priced individually at CAD$1.99 (USD$1.50) for a streaming rental, or $3.99 for download-to-own. Viewers can also subscribe for unlimited monthly viewing at $4.99 per month.

The first selection contains 14 acclaimed NFB short films that have previously screened at various film festivals, including Jill Sharpe’s Bone Wind Fire and Mike Maryniuk’s Home Cooked Music (pictured). The selection will be expanded every two weeks with three new films. One of the newly added films will always be available for free streaming.

The service is available in both English and French.

Al De Azpiazu joins FremantleMedia International

Global distributor FremantleMedia International (FMI) has appointed Al De Azpiazu VP of sales and distribution of Western Europe.

De Azpiazu will be tasked with securing further exploitation opportunities for FMI’s scripted and non-scripted catalog across France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He will report to Jamie Lynn, executive VP of sales and distribution.

De Azpiazu most recently served as executive director of sales at Warner Bros. International Television Production, where he distributed finished programming across EMEA and Latin America. He has also held positions with Cadena SER, Televisió de Catalunya and Mediapro.

Media Ranch acquires exclusive rights to popular book series

Montreal-based indie Media Ranch has acquired the exclusive global rights to produce linear and digital content based on Ivy Press’s 30-Second… book series.

Under the option deal, Media Ranch will develop a raft of short- and long-form programming for both traditional and nontraditional platforms. The series will take popular topics from psychology to wine and dissect them into 50 theories, ideas or concepts which will then be explained in 30 seconds.