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MAINZ, July 2: Hans-Juergen Steimer, the senior VP of acquisitions and co-productions at ZDF Enterprises, has extended his contract for a further five years. Steimer has occupied this position since the company was founded 15 years ago. Alexander Coridass, the …

LONDON, July 2: ZenithOptimedia expects the 2008 Olympic Games to attract $3 billion in additional advertising expenditure next year, almost $1 billion of which will be in China. The U.S. Presidential election and the Euro 2008 football championship will contribute …

LONDON, July 2: Virgin Media has confirmed that it has received a buyout offer, with the private equity firm the Carlyle Group reportedly having made a $20-billion bid for the British quad-play operator. Virgin Media, formed from the mergers of …

NEW YORK, July 2: SiCKO, Michael Moore’s controversial new documentary on the U.S. health care system, drew in more than $4.5 million on 441 screens in its first weekend in theaters, the second-highest opening ever for a documentary after his …

SEATTLE/REDMOND, July 2: Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp. have launched the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project, designed to make it easier for independent filmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format. The project will provide free authoring and …

DALLAS, June 29: Blockbuster will close 282 of its stores in the U.S. this year, according to an AP report, as it looks to beef up its online rental service in order to compete with rival Netflix. The move follows …

LONDON, June 29: The European Commission has ruled that subsidies of up to 40 million euros granted by the Italian government to facilitate the transition to digital TV are in compliance with EC Treaty state aid rules. The Commission ruled …

NEW YORK, June 29: Former Amazon.com executive Jason Kilar has been appointed as CEO of the new online video venture from News Corporation and NBC Universal, effective July 9. Kilar will report to the joint venture’s board of directors. He …

BRUSSELS, June 29: The European Commission has launched EU Tube, a dedicated channel on YouTube that currently features about 50 clips on issues facing the 27 member states of the European Union. “This initiative reflects the Commission's commitment to better …

NEW YORK, June 29: Home Box Office has reached an exclusive deal with independent producer David Kennedy—producer of the Emmy-nominated Showtime movie Our Fathers—to develop programming for the network across all genres. Kennedy was president of Dan Curtis Productions from …