TORONTO – Alliance Atlantis has licensed second-window rights for its popular CSI franchise, worth a total of about US$250 million, the company announced.
The multinational deal involves the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, along with spinoffs CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. The second-window agreements include TF1 in France, Telecino in Spain, Nine Network in Australia, RTL in Germany, Five in the U.K., and CTV in Canada.
“International second-window rights are worth significantly more than we had originally anticipated. We continue to have active discussions with broadcasters in other territories regarding further second-window licensing opportunities,” said Alliance Atlantis CEO Phyllis Yaffe in a release. “The franchise has outperformed our original expectations in international first-window and DVD sales.”
The three shows have so far produced 287 hours of inventory. The shows are co-productions with CBS Paramount Television, while Alliance Atlantis distributes the series internationally.
Alliance Atlantis also announced video-on-demand partnering agreements for the CSI franchise in certain European territories including Germany and the U.K., to take advantage of emerging VOD opportunities in cable and online distribution.
