Fortitude pan-Europe simultaneous Sky launch
January 14, 2015
Sky is to launch Fortitude, its highly anticipated new drama, on January 29th to 20 million customers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. The series is the first Sky original programme to première simultaneously across all five markets since Sky created the entertainment company late last year.
In addition to its launch on Sky, Fortitude will première on the same day to 47 million US households through co-producer Pivot TV, part of Participant Media. Over the coming weeks, Fortitude will also air in primetime slots across more major networks around the world, including Superchannel Canada, ABC Australia, Canal+ France, SVT Sweden, TV2 Denmark, NRK Norway, YLE Finland, RUV Iceland, VRT Belgium, Ale Kino+ Poland, Sky New Zealand, YES Israel and OTE Greece. With advance sales to 13 international broadcasters, Fortitude is now the most successful show to date for Sky’s international distribution arm, Sky Vision.
Described by The Times as “one of the most anticipated TV shows of 2015”, Fortitude tells the story of a close-knit Arctic community that starts to unravel when a mysterious death threatens the town.
Sky is growing the scale and ambition of its home-grown original production as well as continuing to bring customers the best of the US. Fortitude is just one of the major new dramas commissioned by Sky airing in 2015, which also include crime drama The Last Panthers; Critical, the new medical drama from Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio; Enfield Haunting; and Raymond Briggs’ much-loved classic Fungus the Bogeyman. There are also returning hits, including gothic horror Penny Dreadful and action series Strike Back.
Stuart Murphy, Director of Entertainment, Sky,described Fortitude as “truly cinematic drama” with a scale that sets it apart. “The cast and editorial ambition show what we can do when we give world-class talent the space to create game-changing drama. Launching simultaneously to 20 million customers demonstrates Sky’s increased reach across Europe, while record sales around the world mean an even bigger impact and greater returns. The fantastic reaction to Fortitude highlights the growing opportunity for us to create even more high-quality drama for international audiences in the future,” he added.