Nine Oz, RTL Germany among int’l broadcasters to take true crime doc on murder of Olly Stephens

A host of international broadcasters have acquired Angel Eye Media’s recent ITVX true crime special Social Media Murders: The Murder of Olly Stephens.

The 60-minute documentary has been sold by Silverlining Rights to Nine (Australia), RTL (Germany), RTS (Switzerland), TV2 (Denmark), TV2 (Norway), TV4 (Sweden), MTV Finland, RTBF (Belgium), RTS Switzerland and Play Media (Belgium).

It has also been picked up by Quebecor Content, Upstream Media (US, Canada, Lat Am, South Africa) and VA Media (US, Latin America and Asia).

The doc tells the tragic story of 13-year-old Olly Stephens, who was murdered in a park after being lured there to meet a girl, in an attack inspired by the use of knives on social media. It reveals the countdown to a calculated murder, fuelled by the glorification of knife culture on social media, and the investigation that followed.

The deals follow sales for season one of Angel Eye Media’s Channel 4 series Love Cheats by independent production finance broker and distributor Silverlining Rights.

It has been taken by Nine Australia, CBC (Canada), TV2 (Denmark), TV2 (Norway), Warner Bros Discovery (New Zealand), Play Media (Belgium), Prima Group (Czech Republic), Hot 8 (Israel), Upstream Media (US, Lat Am, South Africa, and Asia) VA Media (US, Lat Am, Asia), A True Story (US, Lat Am and Asia) and Night Train Digital (US, Lat Am and Asia).

Bethan Corney, founder and MD at Silverlining Rights, said: “Global demand for gripping true crime content remains strong, and particularly programming that takes a fresh look at new trends, such as the role of social media, which appeal to younger viewers.”