Bounce TV has secured international distribution deals for its slate of original programming.
The digital multicast programmer announced that Viacom International Media Networks has signed a deal to distribute series including Saints & Sinners, In the Cut, Mann & Wife and My Crazy Roommate in sub-Saharan Africa, the U.K. and France, according to Rapid TV News.
Bounce TV also secured a deal with Afrostream to license Family Time and Off the Chain for viewing in sub-Saharan Africa, France, the U.K. Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
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“Bounce TV original series are our highest-rated programming and they have huge multi-generational appeal. Syndicating our original content internationally creates another revenue stream and introduces the Bounce TV brand outside the United States,” said Jonathan Katz, COO of Bounce TV, in a statement. “Viacom International Media Networks and Afrostream are leaders in bringing black culture to fans around the world and we are thrilled to be in business with both companies.”Bounce TV’s first international distribution deal comes shortly after the network also launched its first standalone SVOD service, Brown Sugar, a service for Blaxsploitation films like The Mack, Foxy Brown and Shaft.
The service is available now and costs $3.99 per month after an initial free one-month trial. It works via a mobile app available for Android and iOS devices.
At launch, Brown Sugar’s brand ambassadors include rapper Rick Ross and actors Fred Williamson and Pam Grier.
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For Viacom, the deal fits in with its strategy focusing on growing scale in international markets. Last week, on the first day for Viacom’s new acting CEO Bob Bakish, the programmer spent $345 million to acquire Argentina-based broadcaster Telefe.
It also happens to come along as Viacom is in the process of exploring a re-merger with CBS, a deal seen by many as vital to the survival of struggling Viacom, which just saw its profits sink 71 percent in the most recent quarter. But Bakish told The Hollywood Reporter that the two deals are unrelated.
"I have been chartered by the board to focus on running Viacom as a strong independent company and putting in place a strategy, which will grow the company over time. This move clearly fits with our international strategy, which is an integral component of the overall Viacom growth strategy," Bakish told the publication.