OVATION ACQUIRES U.S. PREMIERE RIGHTS TO SEASON THREE OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED INTERNATIONAL HIT DRAMA SERIES "VERSAILLES"

Represented Globally by Banijay Rights, Ovation Licenses Season 3 of Versailles for Linear Network, VOD and its TV Everywhere App, Ovation NOW

NATPE: January 16, 2017 Fresh off the success of its Season Two premiere, Ovation, America's only arts network, has licensed Season 3 of the hit international series Versailles (10 x 60') from Banijay Rights, the international distribution arm of Banijay Group. The new season will have its U.S. linear and digital premieres on Ovation TV, on VOD, and Ovation NOW in the fall 2018. The announcement was made today by Scott Woodward, EVP, Programming, Ovation.

Versailles season 3 is a CANAL+ Création Originale series, produced by Capa Drama, Banijay Studios France, Entre Chien et Loup. This landmark Anglo-French drama takes the period genre to new dimensions, focusing on the art and culture, greed and deception, sex and politics, and duplicity and murder that all collided in the court of Louis XIV. Since its debut on Ovation in the fall of 2016, the series has been a remarkable success for the network, both on air and across its social networks. Season Two, which concluded last month, exceeded the stellar ratings of Season One by +11% with adults 25-54, and +13% in total viewers. On social media, fan engagement continued to grow throughout the season, and doubled during the final episode. The Los Angeles Times named Versailles Season Two one of the Top Ten shows of 2017.

"Versailles has been a stunning success for Ovation since the Season One premiere," said Woodward. "Season Two exceeded our expectations, surging past the network's benchmarks for original premieres. Particularly thrilling for us was the marked uptick across all our social media platforms and interest in our original behind-the-scenes and documentary content about Versailles. It had the 'tide raises all ships' effect and we certainly are eager to ride the wave into 2018 with Season Three."

At the end of the last season, we saw King Louis' empire, as well as his sanity, dissolve into chaos. In Season Three, he resolves to regain control of his own life, his precious Versailles, and France itself. But rebellion is in the air and new challenges are brewing inside Versailles, as well as outside. Emboldened by his new favorite Madame de Maintenon, he won't relent in his quest for absolute power, convinced of his own divine powers.

Season Three of Versailles is executive produced by Claude Chelli and Aude Albano and directed by Richard Clark, Edward Bazalgette, and Pieter Van Hees. George Blagden (Vikings) returns as Louis XIV, Alexander Vlahos (Merlin) as Prince Philippe, Catherine Walker as Madame de Maintenon and Elisa Lasowski as Queen Marie Thér�se.

About OVATION America's Only Arts Network

Art has the power to inspire us, elevate our thinking, and awaken our senses. As an independent television, production and digital media company, OVATION has an unparalleled commitment to the arts, culture and captivating entertainment. Showcasing a lineup of critically-acclaimed premium dramas, arts-related specials and documentaries, and iconic films, OVATION salutes innovative storytelling, lives for the art in entertainment, finds beauty in the everyday, and applauds art in unexpected places. OVATION is available to nearly 50M subscribers via cable, satellite and telco systems including Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse, SPECTRUM, Verizon FiOS, as well as on VOD. 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, OvationTV.com, and through our App, OVATION NOW.

About Banijay Rights:

Banijay Rights is the international distribution division of Banijay Group, a leading creator and producer of TV content worldwide. Banijay Rights represents quality, excellence and experience in the business of television and ancillary sales across all platforms. It is one of the world's biggest independent distributors, with a catalogue of more than 20,000 hours of globally best-selling content across all genres including drama, formats, factual, entertainment and theatrical. 50% of the catalogue is third party programming from independent producers and networks throughout the world.