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LUXEMBOURG, December 19: SBS Broadcasting Group has named Zoltan Vardy, the commercial director of its TV2 station in Hungary, as its VP of sales. Vardy will continue to serve in his position at TV2. In his role as VP of …

NEW YORK, December 19: NBC Universal is celebrating what it is calling a “groundbreaking” year for its digital initiatives, with 40 interactive TV shows and events in 2006 across 12 business units, generating 130 million web votes and SMS messages. …

BURBANK, December 19: Animation legend Joseph Barbera, the co-chairman and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Studios, passed away yesterday at his Studio City, California, home. He was 95 years old. Born in New York City on March 24, 1911, Barbera worked as …

NEW YORK, December 19: ESPN has taken a minority stake in the Arena Football League as part of a five-year deal announced today granting the sports broadcaster a minimum of 26 televised games per season. ESPN will televise a minimum …

LONDON, December 19: Chellomedia has transferred management of the Extreme Sports Channel to its Zonemedia subsidiary. The move allows Zonemedia to enhance the channel’s international brand profile by offering cross-promotional opportunities through its other channels and further drive audience market …

PHILADELPHIA, December 19: Ziddio, Comcast's newly launched user-generated content site, is teaming with Endemol for a contest that is looking for the next great programming idea. Ten Day Take will see the winning idea fast-tracked into production via Endemol’s resources, …

NEW YORK/ATLANTA, December 19: In a deal with NBC Universal and Broadway Video Entertainment, Cingular Wireless is making content from the long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live available to its subscribers. The launch of Saturday Night Live (SNL) Mobile on …

ESPOO, December 19: Nokia has tapped MSN as the exclusive online distributor of its New Year’s Eve musical celebration taking place in five different cities: Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and New York. The Nokia New Year's Eve …

LONDON/SYDNEY, December 19: Nine Network in Australia has picked up the dinosaur drama series Primeval and the docudrama Superstorm from BBC Worldwide Australasia. Both titles will air on the Australian network next year. In the 3×50-minute Superstorm, a science-based thriller …

LONDON, December 19: Granada International has signed its first output deal with Greek broadcaster Skai TV with a package that covers more than 200 hours of programming. The multi-year output deal covers TV movies and drama including The Triumph, starring …