TLC Acquires Oscar Pistorius Murder Charge Documentary for U.S.

11:43 AM PDT 3/14/2013 by Stuart Kemp

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The Discovery Communications channel will air the BBC documentary about the South African double-amputee booked for killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.

LONDON -- A documentary about South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who is out on bail after being charged with killing his girlfriend, has secured a U.S. TV deal.

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The one-off look at the double-amputee known as the "Blade Runner," who competed at both the Olympics and Paralympics, a first for any athlete, has inked a deal for a version to air on Discovery Communications' channel TLC.

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U.K. sales banner Passion Distribution sealed the deal with TLC for the documentary, which details Pistorius' rise before the news broke that the athlete shot his model and TV-star girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times at the athlete’s home on Valentine’s Day.

Mentorn Media is putting together a "unique" version of the one-hour documentary for the U.S., due to air March 27, titled Blade Runner: The Untold Story.

The documentary garnered the crown as the highest-rated current-affairs documentary aired on BBC3, with 1.2 million viewers, under the title Oscar Pistorius – What Really Happened?

It has been sold to 116 territories around the globe, including deals with Australia (ABC), Belgium (VRT), Canada (CBC), New Zealand (TVNZ), Norway (TV Norge), Sweden (SVT) and Finland (YLE).

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Discovery has also inked a pan deal for the documentary Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Pistorius has subsequently been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp, but has continually claimed that he mistook her for an intruder and it was all a terrible accident.

The documentary features never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews and access to those closest to Steenkamp, including her best friend, Gina Myers.

David Melia, vp of programming at TLC, said: "This is a fascinating story that will resonate with our audience. Mentorn's unique access and storytelling make this an hour not to be missed."