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LONDON: Cheryl Taylor is to become the BBC’s new controller of comedy commissioning, taking up the role this fall. Taylor is currently the BBC’s executive editor for Out of London comedy commissioning. She has been responsible for nurturing original comedies …

SINGAPORE: Singaporean cable platform StarHub has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for La Liga for the upcoming three seasons till 2012. The Spanish football matches begin airing on StarHub this weekend, with up to four live matches weekly on Football Channel, SuperSports …

LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reached deals with Globo, Rede Record and Bandeirantes for the rights to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Globo, which won the bid, has acquired the rights across …

BURBANK: Kate Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8 is to co-host The View on ABC on September 14 and 15, sitting in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is on maternity leave until mid-October. The View makes its season premiere on …

LONDON: Five has signed TV personality Justin Lee Collins to an exclusive two-year deal to front a string of new entertainment and factual shows over the coming months. The first series will be Five’s new prime-time game show Heads or …

TORONTO: Titles from Portfolio Entertainment’s slate of food-based offerings such as Everyday Exotic, Chef Abroad and French Food at Home have notched up new international sales. Discovery Networks Asia went for 39 half-hour episodes of Everyday Exotic, which features a …

ATLANTA: Coming off a record-setting first season, Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns with 22 all-new episodes on October 2 on Cartoon Network. The CG-animated series from creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm Animation will launch into its second season with …

LUXEMBOURG: As a result of goodwill impairments at Five in the U.K. and Greece’s Alpha Media Group, RTL Group recorded a 105 million euros loss in the first half of the year, on revenues that were down 9.6 percent to …

LONDON/NEW YORK: New U.S. apparel deals have been secured by Chorion across its hit properties Olivia and Mr. Men and Little Miss. H.I.S. International Group, in conjunction with Bentex Group, becomes the lead apparel licensee for the Nickelodeon series Olivia. …

HOLLYWOOD: Paramount Home Entertainment has agreed to a trial license program with DVD kiosk operator Redbox, covering titles through the end of 2009, with movies to be made available as soon as they are released to retail. Universal, Warner Bros. …