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NEW YORK: Univision Communications today announced that its president and COO, Ray Rodriguez, is retiring from his post at the end of this year after almost two decades with the U.S. Hispanic broadcasting group. Cesar Conde, the company’s executive VP …

NEW YORK: The major U.S. media companies and several leading advertisers have formed a consortium to challenge Nielsen’s dominance in the audience research space, the Financial Times reported today. NBC Universal, Time Warner, News Corporation, Viacom, CBS, Discovery and Walt …

KUALA LUMPUR: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has signed on as a regional media partner for the fifth ASEAN Para Games, kicking off its association with the Malaysian Paralympic Council. As part of its involvement in the ASEAN Para Games 2009, …

LONDON: The keynote address at this year’s Brand Licensing Europe will be delivered by Bruno Schwobthaler, the senior VP of sales and business development at Warner Bros. Consumer Products for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Schwobthaler will draw on …

BURBANK: Warner Home Video (WHV) says it will limit its new-release rentals at DVD kiosk company Redbox and is changing its policy with mail-order subscription service Netflix. WHV didn’t mention Redbox and Netflix in its brief statement late yesterday, just …

LONDON: ITV1 has commissioned ITV Studios to produce An Audience with Donny & Marie, an hour-long special that marks the first time the duo have appeared together in the U.K. in 20 years. The Osmond duo will be singing a …

LOS ANGELES: Sherri Shephard, co-host of ABC’s The View, headlines the new Lifetime series Sherri, premiering October 5 at 7 p.m. as part of a one-hour comedy block that also features the return of Rita Rocks. Both series will feature …

WASHINGTON/BEIJING: The Chinese government is considering an appeal of yesterday’s ruling that classifies its restrictions on the import of movies, music and books as being in violation the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) global trading rules. Bloomberg cites Commerce Ministry spokesman …

MUNICH: Sky Deutschland’s writeoff of the Premiere brand name resulted in the German pay-TV platform recording a second-quarter net loss of 365.8 million euros. The decision to discontinue the Sky brand name cost 253.9 million euros, the company said. Total …

WARSAW: Former SBS Broadcasting chief Markus Tellenbach has been named president and CEO of Poland’s TVN Group, which today also announced the creation of a four-person Management Board. Tellenbach, who is currently chairman of the supervisory board at Sky Deutschland, …