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BRUSSELS: The European Union’s commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding, is calling on member states to accelerate the digital transition ahead of the 2012 deadline, arguing that the resulting "digital dividend" could be transformed into 50 billion euros worth …

ENGLEWOOD/PHILADELPHIA: Starz Entertainment has joined Comcast’s On Demand Online trial, delivering web access to a range of movies and original series at no extra charge to subscribers of the premium movie service. The trial will initially make 300 movies and …

BURBANK: Defying Gravity, a space thriller set in the near future, from Fox Television Studios and Omni Film Productions, is slated for an August 2 premiere on ABC. From executive producers James Parriott and Michael Edelstein, the show focuses on …

LONDON: UKTV’s crime and drama channel Alibi has picked up all 178 episodes of Diagnosis Murder, the Dick Van Dyke drama that ran on CBS from 1993 to 2001. Alibi has scored all eight seasons of the show from CBS …

PARIS: France Télévisions Distribution and FrenchTV has secured options in ten markets for the game-show format My Family vs The Nation. French TV is producing a version for France 2, while production is set to begin shortly in Spain. Deals …

ROME: BabyTV has secured carriage on SKY Italia, beginning July 31, adding 4.7 million subscribers to its distribution base. The channel, localized in Italian, will be part of the platform’s Kids Pack. Announcing the launch, Diego Londono, the managing director of …

LONDON: Discovery Networks EMEA has commissioned WAG TV to produce the 8×1-hour engineering series X-Machines. The series uses immersive filming techniques to enable the viewer to comprehend the power of these machines, such as the Beluga Airbus A300-600ST, the world’s largest super-transporter; …

LONDON: Nickelodeon UK has picked up the rights to Marvel Animation’s new action series The Super Hero Squad Show for launch on NickToons. Characters such as Captain America, Silver Surfer, Hulk, Wolverine and Iron Man team up to protect Super …

MIAMI: Venevision Productions has begun production on its new novela Pecadora, which features the popular Mexican acting and singing stars Litzy and Eduardo Capetillo. The cast also includes Paulo Quevedo, Lina Santos, Ariel Lopez Padilla, Sergio Klainer, Marjorie De Sousa, Maritza …

MIAMI: RCTV International has named Haydee Pabon as director of international sales for Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Based in Miami, Pabon is charged with driving the exploitation of RCTV’s catalogue, including telenovelas, series, feature films, docs, reality shows and …