World Screen

BRUSSELS, June 26: The European Commission has given its approval to News Corporation’s acquisition of a 25.01-percent stake in German pay-TV platform Premiere, subject to certain conditions in order to allay competition concerns. News Corp. is now Premiere’s largest individual …

PARIS, June 26: Advertising on French public broadcasting will begin to be removed starting in January 2009, President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced, with a complete ban by the end of 2011. "France needs a balance between public channels and private …

LONDON, June 26: In order to ramp up its slate of product from independent producers, ITV Worldwide announced today that it has tripled its development and acquisition fund. Peter Iacono, the president and managing director of ITV Worldwide, made the …

NEW YORK, June 26: NBC has reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of a man who committed suicide after being confronted by camera crews for the Dateline strand To Catch a Predator. Last year, the family of Louis William …

MANILA, June 26: The Philippines’ Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has served its first-ever temporary restraining order against a local cable operator for copyright infringement. According to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the order was served against …

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, June 26: Disney.com reached record traffic levels with the online streaming of the new Disney Channel original movie Camp Rock, which attracted 863,000 video plays during the one-day event. The online streaming, which began at 5 p.m. on …

DELHI, June 26: Turner is moving ahead with plans to set up a theatrical business in India, which will develop feature films targeted at kids and families. Jiggy George, the executive director of Cartoon Network Enterprises for South Asia, has …

MUNICH, June 26: SevenOne International’s family entertainment show Battleship, a celebrity-based adaptation of the classic board game, will premiere live in prime time on Show TV in Turkey this weekend. Battleship features celebrity contestants split into two teams, playing from …

LONDON, June 26: Tiger Aspect Productions has been commissioned by CBeebies in the U.K. and Playhouse Disney in the U.S. to produce the new animated series Tinga Tinga Tales, with Entertainment Rights managing the worldwide distribution rights for the brand …

LONDON, June 26: UKTV History has commissioned a six-part documentary series, Their Finest Hour, from Testimony Films, co-produced with ITV West. Their Finest Hour will focus on the ordinary people who, despite the hardships of war, kept Britain’s chief industries …