Top Stories

MOSCOW: Merab Gabuniya has been named managing director for Russia at NBC Universal Global Networks, effective immediately. In this newly created role, Gabuniya will play an integral part in establishing and growing NBC Universal’s entertainment channels across the country, as …

LONDON: Former Endemol executive Peter Bazalgette has been named non-executive chairman for the British production business at Sony Pictures Television. Bazalgette will advise the newly combined production businesses of SPT and 2waytraffic in the U.K. on expansion plans, and will …

SINGAPORE: Former Discovery Networks Asia executive Mark Whitehead has been tapped as the new general manager and senior VP of BBC Worldwide Channels Asia, where he succeeds Christine Leo-McKerrow. Based in Singapore, Whitehead will take on responsibility for the reach, ratings …

PARIS: Christophe Pecot has joined France Télévisions Distribution as international sales manager, in charge of a catalogue that covers 5,000 hours of programming. France Télévisions Distribution offers a range of fiction, documentaries, animation and feature films, covering Europe, Asia and …

LONDON: Home, the first of UKTV’s lifestyle channels to be rebranded, will launch on April 30 with a host of original commissions, including the brand-new series Gutted. In each episode of Gutted, an unsuspecting "hoarder" returns home to discover that …

WEST PALM BEACH: ION Television is planning to develop and produce 12 original movies per year, with the first set to roll out in the fourth quarter. Genres being explored for the new titles, which will offer integrated marketing opportunities to …

LONDON/BURBANK: Nicky Wood has been upped to senior VP of sales for Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa at Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Based in London and reporting to Robert Blair, the senior VP and managing director for Northern …

NEEDHAM/LOS ANGELES: Echo Bridge Entertainment has closed a slate of agreements for two teen series from its Alliance Atlantis Distribution catalogue: Degrassi: The Next Generation and Instant Star. European deals for Degrassi: The Next Generation include Poland’s Canal+ Cyfrowy Sp. …

TORONTO: Ronald D. Moore, the writer and executive producer of Battlestar Galactica, has been added to the Master Class speaker lineup at the Banff World Television Festival, which is celebrating its 30th edition this June 7 to 10. “Banff’s Master Class …

SAN FRANCISCO: Lifetime Networks has launched the U.S. version of Roiworld.com, the recently acquired Korean "dress up" casual gaming site for women. In the month its introduction to the U.S., Roiworld.com has recorded 1.3 million unique visitors and 43 million …