MUMBAI: RTL Television and Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) have signed a new, multiyear volume deal agreement, which will make RTL the new broadcast home for all of WBITD’s programming in Germany, including more than 200 theatrical motion pictures and television series.
Under terms of the agreement, RTL has obtained the German broadcasting rights to a slate of first-run feature films commencing with titles released theatrically in the US in 2010, along with a number of library motion pictures, as well as new television series starting with the 2010–2011 US television season.
RTL executive vice president for program acquisitions and sales Dirk Schweitzer said, "We are extremely happy to acquire this package from WBITD, which is also one of the most attractive deals available to the German market in recent years. This acquisition continues to boost RTL’s level of proficiency in cinema and TV series."
Warner Bros. International Television president Jeffrey R. Schlesinger added, "We are pleased to have entered into this new agreement which will bring all of our new movies and television series to RTL beginning next year. We look forward to working closely with RTL to make this programming a hit with German viewers for years to come."
Movies licensed by RTL under the new deal include numerous free-TV premieres, highlighted by the final two installments of the Harry Potter film franchise: the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Additional previously released motion pictures included in the pact are, among others, the three films in the Peter Jackson–directed Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and concluding chapter The Return of the King, which won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture – as well as Ocean’s Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts; Rush Hour 2, directed by Brett Ratner and starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker; and Blade II, directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Wesley Snipes.
