World Screen

ENGLEWOOD: Liberty Media Corporation has announced that Chris Albrecht, the former chairman and CEO of HBO, will join Starz as its president and CEO.    Albrecht will oversee all of the Starz entities, including Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay …

LONDON: The BBC Trust has given provisional approval for the BBC to participate in Project Canvas, the proposed joint venture that would bring Internet access to TVs via a set-top box. The joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 …

As the year comes to a close, World Screen Newsflash takes a look back at the biggest stories of the year, and identifies some of the hot topics to watch in 2010. The year kicked off with disputes and reconciliations; …

LONDON/NEW YORK: News Corporation is increasing its stake in Sky Deutschland from 39.96 percent to 45.4 percent via a new share issue. The company announced today that it has agreed to subscribe to up to 49 million new registered shares in …

LONDON: Universal Networks International is launching VOD services for its Sci Fi and 13th Street brands on the UPC digital TV platform in the Netherlands. SCI FI On Demand will offer popular series such as Enterprise, Sanctuary, Primeval and Doctor Who, …

EL SEGUNDO/BURBANK: Ahead of the sixth and final season of Lost on ABC, satellite-TV provider DirecTV will air a series of specials recapping the first five seasons of the show on its The 101 Network. Beginning with Destination: LOST on …

HONG KONG: Disney-ABC International Television (DAIT) Asia Pacific, and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have clinched a deal to make a range of current and library features from the studio available for online purchase or rental from Nowcom. Nowcom is one …

SILVER SPRING: John Ford is exiting his post as president and general manager of Discovery Channel in the U.S., with parent company Discovery Communications also announcing a new structure that groups brands targeting similar demographics under common leadership. Announcing the realignment, David …

MOSCOW: CTC Media has settled the litigation it filed against its former president and CEO,  Alexander E. Rodnyansky, in November in which it claimed breaches of fiduciary duty and contractual obligations. Last month, the Russian broadcaster maintained that Rodnyansky had been involved in the …

MADRID: Spanish broadcaster Telecinco, which is majority owned by Italy’s Mediaset, has reached a deal to acquire the free-to-air network Cuatro from Prisa, as well as a 22-percent stake in the pay-TV platform Digital+, for around 1.05 billion euros in …