The deal sheet
Vienna-based ORF-Enterprise exited Mipcom with a multi-territory licensing run spanning Europe, North America and Asia. The agreements cover linear broadcast, streaming, FAST channels, home entertainment and onboard services, and include two first-time relationships: The Walt Disney Company in Portugal and Canal+ in Austria.
The Disney order is a slate of 10 Tatort: Vienna television movies. Canal+ has taken a broader fiction package for Austria: Kafka, Weber & Breitfuß, nine seasons of Four Women & a Funeral, The Curious Case of Gerti B, Backwoods Crimes, all three instalments of In the Shadow of Fear, Lights Out, Kottan’s Investigations and Kaisermühlen Blues.
GSN, the operator behind Walter Presents, licensed seasons 18 to 20 of Soko Kitzbuehel for the US and Canada, and Jones for the UK and Ireland. Mainstream Media took The Nosy Brothers and a 26-episode Tatort: Vienna package for crime channel Der Krimikanal. Samsung TV Plus picked a package that includes The Nosy Brothers, Old Money, The Kebab Incident, Polt and Dave for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Factual sales were just as wide. RTP acquired Glambitious season one and premium nature titles such as Superfish – Wild Salmon and Mission Sea Otter. Rai renewed Beauty & Despair – Austria’s Empress Sisi, Canal+ Polska and Canal+ France added wildlife titles, RTBF took Mission Sea Otter, PTS in Taiwan bought a wildlife and travel package, and National Geographic Channels acquired alpine documentary Vertical Worlds – Between Abyss & Refuge.
Why the pattern matters
No financial terms were disclosed. What matters is the demand pattern. ORF-Enterprise is the distribution arm of Austrian public broadcaster ORF, and its slate is built on long-running crime brands, factual and catalogue depth rather than global franchise scale. Buyers are choosing volume and format fit, not just one-off premieres.
“New customers are discovering our fiction, established partners are expanding their commitment with blue-chip factual, and proven library titles are gaining fresh relevance on thematic and FAST services,” said Armin Luttenberger, head of content sales international at ORF-Enterprise.
That line is the takeaway for content sellers: thematic channels, FAST platforms and onboard services are creating new windows for libraries that would once have been considered too local for international buyers. Disney Portugal taking a 10-film crime franchise is a signal that established titles can anchor a new regional buyer relationship.
CEO Matthias Seiringer made the strategic frame explicit: international sales are both a growth driver for ORF-Enterprise and a visibility play for Austria’s creative industry. For media planners and entertainment marketers, it is a reminder that channel inventory is broadening beyond premium first-window originals; acquired library and format-fit titles are filling hours on FAST and thematic services.
What to do with this
- Package franchises in depth: a 10-film or multi-season block is easier to schedule and promote than single titles.
- Map your library by window and buyer type; what fits a FAST service may not fit a public broadcaster.
- Include FAST and onboard rights in the initial pitch, not as an afterthought.
Source: C21media
