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TORONTO, December 18: Portfolio Entertainment has secured a number of international sales deals, including one with Red Media Group in Russia for four lifestyle programs. The Russian-based Red Media Group has acquired the exclusive pay-cable and satellite television rights for …

LONDON, December 18: With its acquisition of Sparrowhawk Media complete, NBC Universal has announced a new organization for its Global Networks division in order to support growth for its various brands, including 13th Street and Sci Fi and now the …

LONDON, December 18: ITV has appointed Paul Buccieri as the new president and CEO of Granada America, replacing David Gyngell, who returned to Australia earlier this year to become chief executive of the Nine Network. Based in Granada America’s Los …

LONDON, December 17: FremantleMedia and its parent company, the RTL Group, today unveiled plans to launch a multi-million-euros film studio in Germany, via its local subsidiary UFA. In a statement, the company called the move “one of the most significant …

LONDON, December 17: The U.K.’s Competition Commission has submitted its final report on BSkyB’s 17.9 percent ITV stake to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, John Hutton, who has 30 days to issue his ruling. The …

STOCKHOLM, December 17: Modern Times Group’s (MTG) CDON e-commerce subsidiary has reached deals to acquire 100 percent of the Finnish online book retailer Helsingin Dataclub Oy and 90.1 percent of the Swedish online children’s clothes retailer Linus & Lotta Postorder …

LOS ANGELES, December 17: The American Film Institute (AFI) has unveiled the official selections for the eighth annual AFI Awards, which honor the best of this year’s film and television. For its top 10 TV programs of 2007, AFI’s official …

NEW YORK, December 17: Showtime has acquired the hit British series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a half-hour comedy based on the best-selling, real-life diaries of a high-end call girl, from IMG Media. Showtime will air the first 8×30-minute …

NEW YORK, December 17: Food Network and Rachael Ray have secured a two-year agreement for a new prime-time series, Rachael’s Vacation, for launch in January, as well as an extension of her signature daytime series 30 Minute Meals for 60 …

LONDON, December 17: BBC Worldwide has added celebrity interviews from British chat-show legend Michael Parkinson to its dedicated channel on the video sharing site YouTube. In the 25 years of his chat show, Parkinson has interviewed celebrities like Dame Judi …