DAZN adds Chelsea F.C. Women docuseries to “World Cup Stories” slate

Sports streamer DAZN is complementing its growing slate of women’s sports coverage with the acquisition of One Team, One Dream (pictured), a six-part docuseries about the football squad Chelsea F.C. Women produced by Fulwell 73 in partnership with Waffle Iron Entertainment.

Produced and directed by Alex Sunderland, and executive produced by Fulwell 73′s Leo Pearlman and Ben Turner, the series chronicles the period from 2019 to 2021. During this time, the team rebounded from the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season and embarked on a history-setting run that saw them become the first English club to reach the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in more than a decade.

DAZN’s recently launched content development and distribution arm DAZN Studios acquired the series, which joins a number of other football docs in its “World Cup Stories” collection that will debut on the streamer this year ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“It has never been more important to increase visibility and access to the world of women’s sport, and telling the stories of its greatest athletes and coaches is one more way we can do that,” said Grant Best, EVP of global commissioning and original content for DAZN. “Fulwell 73 is a world-class content creator, and we’re excited to bring One Team, One Dream to fans around the globe. This is just another example of how DAZN and DAZN Studios is working with leading talent in the TV industry to create a true sports entertainment platform.”

Flame secures European deals for raft of nature, history and travel titles

Flame Distribution has closed deals with a number of European broadcasters for a generous package of high-end factual titles.

One month after it became Flame’s first sale to BBC America, acclaimed nature doc Life in Colour with David Attenborough (2 x 60 min. / 2 x 50 min. / 3 x 40 min. plus making-of doc) has been picked up by France TV, RTBF (Belgium), Geo Wild (Germany) and HRT (Croatia). France TV also sprung for the wildlife series Work on the Wild Side (2o x 60 min. and 10 x 30 min.), about vets and volunteers working to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals in South Africa, while HRT acquired the standalone docs In Search of Sir Walter Scott (1 x 52 min.) and Antarctica from Above (1 x 53 min.).

France’s Histoire TV took a trio of doc specials — Hitler’s Secret Bomb (1 x 84 min. / 1 x 60 min.), Secrets of the Celtic Grave (1 x 46 min. / 1 x 84 min.) and Kokoda: The Spirit Lives (1 x 94 min.) — while RTL in the Netherlands acquired Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me (1 x 50 min.).

Secrets of the Celtic Grave was also picked up for Sweden by SVT, along with Yellowstone Supervolcano (2 x 52 min. / 1 x 67 min./ 1 x 84 min.). Fellow Swedish broadcaster UR took The Truth About Anxiety with Celia Pacquola (1 x 56 min.), while Finland’s YLE acquired season one of Passion Italy (12 x 30 min.) and Adrian Dunbar’s Coastal Ireland (2 x 45 min.).

“We are delighted to work with such incredible broadcasters and to have such a broad range of premium unscripted fare in our catalog to suit any schedule,” said Ros Ali, Flame SVP of content sales for the UK, Europe and Africa. “Travel, wildlife and historical programmes seem to also be very much in demand across the board and no doubt viewers will find many of these shows fascinating and engaging.”