Beta Film strikes European licensing deal with Canal+
December 18, 2025 11.06 Europe/London By Jörn Krieger

German production and distribution company Beta Film has closed a multi-territory licensing agreement with Canal+, securing distribution for a slate of premium European drama series across several European markets.

The deal covers territories including Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands, and spans multiple windows and platforms operated by Canal+.

Under the agreement, the broadcaster has acquired titles including the UK drama The Couple Next Door (pictured), political thriller Other People’s Money, Italian coming-of-age series Prisma, mafia drama Cold Summer, detective series Makari – Sicilian Mysteries, Madrid-set crime drama El Inmortal – Gangs of Madrid, and Last to Brake, a biographical series about motorcycle racing pioneer Jarno Saarinen.

Other People’s Money, an eight-part political thriller created by Jan Schomburg and inspired by real financial scandals, premiered at the Berlinale and is produced by X Filme Creative Pool and True Content Entertainment in collaboration with several European public broadcasters.

Also included is The Couple Next Door, starring Sam Heughan, which ranked among Channel 4’s strongest drama launches. The six-part series is produced by Eagle Eye in association with Beta Film and is loosely adapted from the Dutch drama The Neighbors.

Italian drama features prominently in the package. Cold Summer, adapted from a novel by former anti-mafia prosecutor Gianrico Carofiglio, was a ratings success on RAI and has already been sold into markets outside Europe. Makari – Sicilian Mysteries, another RAI primetime hit, blends crime, comedy and melodrama.