World Screen

STOCKHOLM, January 15: TV1000 Drama is the newest channel to join Viasat Broadcasting’s offerings for Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The network, which showcases new and classic drama titles, will complement existing 24-hour channels TV1000, TV1000+1, TV1000 Action, TV1000 Nordic, …

BURBANK, January 15: Disney-ABC Television Group’s morning talk show The View and the daytime drama General Hospital are now available for free online viewing on the ABC.com video player. The five most-recent episodes of each program will be available on …

DALLAS/NEW YORK, January 15: AT&T Services has clinched a new deal with Viacom, bringing MTV Networks and BET Networks channels to its in-car entertainment service, among other platforms. The agreement renews carriage for the MTVN and BETN channels and VOD …

LONDON, January 15: The U.K.’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is supporting a relaxation in ITV’s contracts rights renewal (CRR) obligations, first implemented following the Carlton and Granada merger in 2003. The CRR clause was put into place to address …

BERLIN, January 15: German pay-TV platform Premiere has issued 10.2 million new shares, raising a total of 38.44 million euros in the first stage of a two-part capital increase. The shares were issued for 3.76 euros each. A second share …

SINGAPORE, January 14: New data from ABI Research predicts a 32-percent increase in the number of subscribers to IPTV platforms worldwide by 2014. The report indicates that while satellite and cable TV platforms are likely to retain their footholds in …

LOS ANGELES, January 14: Season eight of American Idol premiered on FOX last night with an estimated 30.1 million viewers, 10-percent down on the season opener last year. The hit show from FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment remains the most-watched show …

LONDON, January 14: ESPN is said to be interested in bidding for the live rights to English Premier League matches in the U.K., taking on BSkyB and Setanta Sports. According to Bloomberg News, ESPN is considering a bid for one …

CULVER CITY, January 14: In a move to expand its non-fiction programming output, Sony Pictures Television has acquired Michael Davies’ outfit, Embassy Row. Davies is best known for bringing Who Wants to be a Millionaire? to the U.S. The deal …

HILVERSUM, January 14: Following news that Paul Johnson is stepping down as the director of the television division at Reed MIDEM, Endemol has announced his appointment as its global head of marketing and brand partnerships. In his new role, Johnson …