600+HOUR DEAL FOR CJZ AND GREENSTONE TO NEW DISTRIBUTOR

Australian and NZ indie’s franchises headlines slate of proven bankers

London, March 18th 2021

BossaNova, the new content creation, funding and distribution company, has announced its first volume catalogue acquisition in the form of a 600+ hours deal with two of Australia and New Zealand’s largest independently owned factual producers, CJZ and Greenstone. The deal was brokered by Paul Heaney, co-founder and CEO of BossaNova, and Matt Campbell, group CEO of CJZ.

The deal adds some of the world’s most successful returning factual titles to BossaNova’s roster, including the Patrol franchise. Produced by New Zealand indie Greenstone and acquired by CJZ in 2014, the portfolio consists of Border Patrol (108 x 30 mins), Motorway Patrol (196 x 30 mins), Highway Patrol (107 x 30 mins) and Dog Patrol (106 x 30 mins), plus the spin-off series Dog Patrol: Puppy School (20 x 23 mins).

Border Patrol, about to embark in its 12th season, follows the women, men and animals on the front line of New Zealand’s border security as they deal with everything from fake passports to illegal sex workers. Now in its 22nd year, Motorway Patrol is one of the world’s longest running and most popular factual series – and the smashes, crashes, brawls and drunks on Auckland’s motorway network just keep on coming. Covering similar ground, Highway Patrol rides shotgun with the Australian police officers tasked with keeping Victoria’s roads safe.

Dog Patrol, meanwhile, throws the spotlight on the NZ Police’s working dogs and their handlers, offering an insight into the work of these dedicated teams at airports, prisons and out in the wider community. Dog Patrol offshoot Puppy School follows puppies as they embark on the journey to become canine crime fighters, mobility dogs and guide dogs.

The deal also includes over 20 other factual series including Cruising, The Big Ward and Renters.

Matt Campbell, CJZ’s Group CEO, said: “Paul and his talented team did great work with our catalogue of programmes during his time as founder and CEO at TCB. BossaNova marks a new start for both of us. We like Paul’s approach to distribution which is more than just about selling shows. Financing series has become a complicated puzzle, helped enormously through Paul’s strong relationships with buyers across the globe. The market intel and additional networking opportunities he provides is essential in today’s media landscape.”

Rachel Antony, Greenstone’s CEO, said: “These shows are enduringly among New Zealand audience favourites and we love that they also connect so well with viewers globally. Paul’s been a real champion for Greenstone’s programmes and producers over the years and we look forward to this renewed relationship and working with the BossaNova team to get more great Kiwi content out into the world.”

Paul Heaney said “We are just so honoured and thrilled to be once again working with the highly respected, globally recognised CJZ group. This is a massive moment for BossaNova that will propel us forward and be totally transformative. We want the same too for The CJZ Group, as this is not just about returnable, repeatable and scalable series, though these are incredibly important mainstays for any platform. Both in premium documentary and higher volume projects, BossaNova will be working hard with CJZ and Greenstone to sell shows, to innovate and to find new ideas and markets. ‘Relationship’ is a very overused word in our industry, but it’s the strength and depth of it that matters.’

The CJZ Australia catalogue is available now and the Greenstone NZ titles will be available between now and August this year.

www.bossanovamedia.com

For further information, please contact:

Cheryl Clarke at Mushroom Media on:

Tel: +44 (0)7939554109

E: cheryl@mushroom-media.co.uk