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HILVERSUM, June 30: Endemol is launching a new company in Turkey to produce formats in the region, scoring its first commission through Show TV for a local version of the obstacle-course format Wipeout. Endemol Turkey will be based in Istanbul …

LOS ANGELES, June 30: Alan Rosenberg, the president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), has asserted that “no steps” have been taken to authorize a strike, with talks for a new contract continuing with Hollywood producers. SAG’s contract is due …

NEW YORK, June 30: With its takeover of CNET Networks complete, CBS Corporation’s CBS Interactive becomes the eighth-largest web network worldwide in terms of monthly unique visitors, with Quincy Smith tapped to lead the merged operation as CEO and Neil …

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 30: News Corporation is privatizing its majority-owned public subsidiary NDS in a deal with investment firm Permira. Following the $3.6-billion transaction, Permira will own 51 percent of NDS, with 49 percent held by News Corp., which currently …

LONDON, June 30: ZenithOptimedia forecasts that global advertising expenditure will rise 6.6 percent this year to $517.5 billion, driven by gains in the Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and other developing markets. The research firm has downgraded …

VILNIUS, June 30: Laura Blazeviciute has been named as the acting CEO of TV3, Tango-TV and Power Hit Radio in Lithuania, with the company’s current CEO, Ramunas Saucikovas, leaving in July. Currently the COO, Blazeviciute has held the positions of …

LONDON/MUNICH, June 30: To support the integration of its channel- and program-distribution teams, Disney-ABC International Television has changed its name to Disney-ABC-ESPN Television in EMEA and Canada, and has made two executive appointments. Carsten Fink has been named as the …

LONDON, June 30: Bulldog Licensing has added Panini to the growing slate of licensees for Animation Collective’s Thumb Wrestling Federation: TWF. Panini will create collectible stickers and sticker albums based on the show’s characters. The collection is set to launch …

HARRINGTON PARK, June 30: Janson Media’s one-hour HD documentary special Ice Island, which explores the impact of global warming by examining an Antarctic iceberg, is now available for TV, DVD/video, VOD and new-media markets worldwide. Ice Island follows a team …

BOGOTÁ, June 27: Hole in the Wall, the Japanese-originated game show that FremantleMedia is rolling out around the world, is set to launch in Colombia this weekend on RCN, in a version produced by Teleset. FremantleMedia launched the format onto …