Fremantle to get rights to a documentary distributor 72 films.
Fremantle has acquired a majority stake in David Glover and Mark Raphael’s factual powerhouse 72 Films, the producers behind “9/11: One Day in America,” “The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty” and “All or Nothing: Arsenal.”
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for the Bertelsmann and RTL Group-owned Fremantle, which has been expanding aggressively in scripted in the last year. The acquisition of 72 Films is a major coup in the non-scripted arena for the company considering the production company’s excellent track record of documentary hits.
Under the deal, Fremantle says it will provide 72 Films with its “global infrastructure, distribution, and specialist support” across the 27 territories in which it operates. The deal “reaffirms Fremantle’s commitment and ambition to grow its global documentaries proposition working with the very best filmmaking talent,” said the company, which has been pushing into premium documentary in recent years.