World Screen

CHICAGO: Playboy Enterprises’ board of directors has formed a special committee to consider founder Hugh Hefner’s proposal to buy out the rest of the company. A special committee consisting of attorney Sol Rosenthal and Playboy director Shing Tao will evaluate …

NEW YORK: Second-quarter profit at CBS Corporation increased nearly ten-fold, on an 8.6-percent rise in advertising revenue and improved margins from cost-cutting. CBS’s net income was nearly ten times the level a year ago, increasing to $150.1 million. Revenue rose …

SCOTTSDALE: Revenue from the purchase of HD personal video recorder (PVR) set-top boxes is expected to increase by more than 61 percent by 2014, according to In-Stat. In-Stat forecasts that as consumers migrate from standard definition to high definition, the …

NEW YORK: Time Warner reported a second-quarter profit that was up 7 percent on the year prior, due in part to improved advertising sales at its cable networks and box-office proceeds from films such as Clash of the Titans and …

HONG KONG: Tiger Gate Entertainment, the Lionsgate and Saban Capital Group joint venture that is rolling entertainment channels out across Asia, has tapped Jef Lim as head of programming and production. Based in Hong Kong and reporting to William Pfieffer, CEO of …

NEW YORK/MUMBAI: AETN International is set to launch its channel brands into India via a joint venture with Network18 Group. AETN-18 India will launch HISTORY, BIO and other AETN channel brands into India, with timelines to be announced in due course. The …

LONDON: Ian McDonough has been appointed to the role of senior VP and general manager for EMEA at BBC Worldwide Channels, replacing Dean Possenniskie with immediate effect. McDonough, formerly the VP of commercial development, will now oversee the day-to-day management …

LUXEMBOURG/PARIS: FootSchool TV, an international channel aimed at teaching viewers how to play football, is heading to Israel via an agreement with Talit Communications. This month, FootSchool TV content will be distributed in Israel and for the first time ever …

WARSAW: SPI International has firmed up an agreement with Romania’s Romtelecom for the carriage of select FilmBox channels. Romtelecom will initially launch the two movie channels FilmBox and FilmBox HD and fashion channel FashionBox HD. The channels will broadcast both …

LOS ANGELES: TuTv, a joint venture between Univision Communications and Televisa, has secured additional carriage for its networks Bandamax and De Película Clásico with RCN. Bandamax, dedicated to the Latin music of regional Mexico, and De Película Clásico, a classic …