World Screen

LONDON: Aussie outfit Village Roadshow is bringing the sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie down under after closing a deal with Zodiak Rights, the film’s international distributor. The Inbetweeners Movie 2, which coincidentally is set in Australia, began shooting in December. Zodiak Media company Bwark will produce the second big-screen adaptation …

BANGKOK: Expanding its Asian presence, beIN Sports is set to be offered on Thailand's leading pay-TV platform, TrueVisions, beginning this week. The channel, beIN SPORTS 1, will become available to the platform's subscribers tomorrow (February 5). The channel holds the broadcast rights for, among others, the Scottish Professional Football League, …

TOKYO: Japanese pubcaster NHK is making some major changes to its international English-language service, which reaches more than 270 million homes across the globe, including adding new shows about Japanese films and Kabuki. As of April, NHK World TV will increase the number of regular series it airs from 34 …

TOKYO: Projecting a 110 billion yen ($1.1 billion) loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, Sony has announced plans to cut 5,000 positions, sell its PC unit and spin off its TV-set operation as a separate wholly-owned subsidiary. The news came as the company announced its Q3 results, …

HONG KONG: Julien Dutronc has left TV5 Monde to become the director of TV distribution for Lightning International. In his new role, Dutronc will manage regional sales and distribution for the company's various television networks. He will be charged with the rollout of such channels as TRACE Sports Stars HD, …

SYDNEY: The latest Australian Multi-Screen Report illustrates that Australians overwhelmingly prefer live TV to recorded, with overall in-home TV usage steady year-on-year. Broadcast TV viewing is at nearly 96 hours per Australian each month. Australians gravitate toward the largest available screen for viewing as well. Smaller, mobile devices create additional …

SINGAPORE: The online video service Viki has renewed its licensing agreement with NBCUniversal for the third year in a row, allowing it to stream hundreds of hours of shows into Southeast Asia. Viki will be streaming comedies such as The Office, Parks and Recreation, Monk and Psych on its platform. …

KUALA LUMPUR: Astro and its subsidiary Astro Retail Ventures have teamed up with GS Home Shopping to establish a home shopping business in Malaysia. Astro GS Shop (AGSSB) will be 60 percent owned by Astro Retail Ventures, while the remaining 40 percent is owned by GS Home Shopping. Astro's home …

SINGAPORE: Viva Communications is gearing up to launch MTV Pinoy, the Philippines edition of the youth entertainment channel, on February 14. Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia and Viva are collaborating on local production, on-the-ground events and marketing and ad sales for the channel. Viva is also now in charge …

SINGAPORE: Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines is the latest original series for Asian Food Channel (AFC), which will broadcast the 13-episode program regionally across 12 territories in Asia. The series is produced in collaboration with the Philippine Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines. It is …