Ovation TV Acquires U.S. Premiere Rights To International Hit Mini-Series 'Versailles' From Zodiak Rights

The landmark Anglo-French drama takes the period genre to new dimensions, injecting a vibrant modernity into an era that put France at the epicenter of glamour, culture and fashion. The series was brought to life by a critically acclaimed creative team, which includes Executive Producers Simon Mirren (Without a Trace, Criminal Minds), David Wolstencroft (Spooks, The Escape Artist), Claude Chelli (Braquo), Anne Thomopoulos (Rome, The Tudors) and Director Jalil Lespert (Yves Saint Laurent).

Set against a backdrop of power, love, betrayal and war, Versailles is a unique take on a defining period of French history. The year is 1667 and King Louis XIV, portrayed by George Blagden (Vikings), is a 28-year-old monarch on the cusp of greatness. A ruthless leader, he will stop at nothing to achieve his vision of creating the most beautiful palace in Europe and seizing absolute control of France and his enemies.  

"Louis XIV created an international style and culture icon when he created the palace of Versailles, and in so doing, installed himself in the annals of history as not only a determined leader and libertine, but a harbinger of France's profound artistic impact on the rest of the world," said Scott Woodward, EVP of Programming and Production, Ovation. "The epic nature of this story is captured extraordinarily well in this lush production. Versailles is the epitome of 'event' programming and there's no better network to showcase it than Ovation TV."

Caroline Torrance, Head of Scripted, Zodiak Rights, commented, "Versailles is a standout drama with a winning combination of first-class acting talent, writing prowess and high production values. The Ovation acquisition highlights the true global appeal of such a sweeping and fascinating story brought to life with an energetic and cinematic style. We are certain that the series will play out extremely well for Ovation, demonstrating how high-end European dramas can grip audiences amidst the best of the home grown scripted dramas coming out of America."

Andreas Lemos, Zodiak Rights' Vice President Sales & Acquisitions – North America, brokered the deal with Rob Rader, Ovation's General Counsel, and Liz Zee of The Point Media.

About Zodiak Rights
Zodiak Rights is the international distribution and rights exploitation arm of Zodiak Media, part of Banijay Group. The company is a market leader in the worldwide distribution of television and home entertainment programming across all platforms. It also has a fully-fledged merchandising and licensing arm and digital exploitation team. Zodiak Rights represents a catalogue of over 20,000 hours of high quality content across all genres including kids, drama, comedy, factual and entertainment.

About Ovation TV
Ovation is an independent television and digital media company dedicated to celebrating and supporting all forms of arts and culture. Ovation TV selectively curates and airs arts-related series, specials, documentaries and films.  The network also offers viewers an exciting line up of original productions. Ovation TV is available to nearly 50M subscribers via cable, satellite and telco systems including Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, Charter Communications, Bright House Networks, and many other smaller providers, and is offered in both standard and high definition, as well as on VOD.  In addition, Ovation champions artists through the Ovation Digital Arts network, a unique artist community dedicated to supporting and helping talented YouTube creators grow their brands and businesses. Through The Ovation Foundation, the company is committed to advocating for the arts, nationally and locally, and has provided more than $15M in contributions and in kind support to arts institutions and arts education.  You can follow Ovation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and OvationTV.com.

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