World Screen

BERLIN, September 1: Warner Home Video will release more than 15 HD DVD titles in European markets, including France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., late this year. Warner Bros. titles will be released in conjunction with the expected European availability …

TORONTO, September 1: Bell Globemedia (BGM) has succeeded in taking control of about 99 percent of CHUM’s common voting stock and about 93 percent of non-voting shares, after announcing its $1.5 billion takeover offer for the company in early July. …

World Screen Weekly, August 31, 2006 CEO American Cinema International What do the restaurant business and the entertainment business have in common? A lot, if you ask George Shamieh, the CEO of American Cinema International. “In restaurants, there is urgency …

WINNIPEG, August 31: CanWest Global Communications has appointed Derek H. Burney as Chairman of the Board, where he succeeds the interim chairman David Drybrough. Drybrough has held the position since March 2005, after then-chairman Frank McKenna stepped down to become …

BURBANK, August 31: Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) is establishing a new structure for its European management team, with Robert Blair and Jose “Pepe” Abad splitting oversight of the sales team, and Mickie Steinmann relocating to Canada. Blair, who …

BURBANK, August 31: Hilary Estey McLoughlin has been named president of Telepictures Productions, where she succeeds Jim Paratore, who last week announced plans to set up a full-service television production company, paraMedia inc. During her tenure at Telepictures Productions, McLoughlin …

WASHINGTON, August 31: National Geographic Channels International has commissioned Lion Television to produce Outbreak Investigation, a six-part series that looks at the world’s most baffling outbreaks of diseases. The 6×1-hour production rolls out this fall on the channel in 163 …

LONDON, August 31: Icon Film Distribution, the British arm of Mel Gibson’s outfit Icon, has signed a deal with Arts Alliance Media (AAM) to make its movies available on a download-to-rent basis in the U.K. The titles will be available …

LONDON, August 31: RDF Media Group has reached a deal to acquire the Glasgow-based indie The Comedy Unit for initial consideration of £6.5 million, £4 million of which will be payable in cash and £2.5 million in RDF shares. The …

LOS ANGELES/LONDON, August 31: Elisabeth Murdoch’s British production outfit Shine is working with Twentieth Television on My Games Fever, a participation television game show that will launch on MyNetwork TV at the end of this year. Slated for a December …