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NEW YORK/BRISTOL/HONG KONG: News Corporation is taking 100-percent control of the ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) joint venture, which operates sports networks across 24 Asian markets. ESPN says the move to offload its 50-percent stake in ESS will give it "more independence and flexibility in future support of The Walt Disney Company’s overall efforts in Asia." …

MUMBAI: Endemol India, now 49-percent owned by Peter Chernin‘s CA Media, has made two new executive appointments: Abhishek Rege as COO of television and Doris Dey as head of fiction. In April, Chernin’s Asian investment arm, CA Media, announced its investment in Endemol’s Indian operation. With the capital investment, Endemol India is …

SINGAPORE: StarHub TV customers are gaining access to their subscription plan directly across multiple screens through the new value-added service TV Anywhere. The Internet TV platform starhubtv.com, currently in its beta phase, will deliver cable customers access to up to 12 channels, depending on their subscription plan. More than 600 hours of …

HONG KONG: Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific has appointed Melissa Tinker to serve as VP of Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE). CNE has been expanding its business across the region, including branded learning centers and themed destinations in addition to traditional categories such as toys, apparel, home entertainment, publishing and lifestyle. Tinker …

LOS ANGELES: CBS Studios International has entered a deal with Japan’s Avex Broadcasting & Communications to deliver programming such as NCIS and 90210 to the d Market Video Store subscription on-demand video service for mobile devices. The multi-year, non-exclusive agreement will see CBS content available on Avex’s SVOD service available …

LONDON: FremantleMedia is setting up a new office in Chennai in order to develop more content for India’s non-Hindi-speaking markets, adding to an existing production base in Mumbai. "This is a fantastic opportunity for FremantleMedia Asia," said Ian Hogg, CEO of FremantleMedia Asia Pacific. "India is the second most populous …

SINGAPORE: The number of IPTV subscribers worldwide will increase 70 percent from 2012 to 2017, with 100 percent growth in the Asia Pacific, reports ABI Research. There are currently 28.5 million IPTV subscribers in the Asia Pacific. Globally, pay-TV subs will reach 853.5 million by the end of the year, …

MONTREAL: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has linked up with Phoenix New Media (FENG) to deliver a Canadian-branded online channel in China, NFB Zone, which will feature animated and documentary films for streaming, VOD and download-to-own. Through the partnership, around 130 NFB titles will be available on Phoenix New …

HONG KONG: Celestial Tiger Entertainment has secured five new carriage deals, amounting to a total of 13 channel launches across eight pay-TV platforms since the company’s December 2011 launch. In Indonesia, the channels join PT MNC Sky Vision, PT Mega Media and Topas TV. In the Philippines, carriage has been …

MUMBAI/CULVER CITY: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has inked a deal to up its ownership of Multi Screen Media Private Limited (MSM)—which operates the Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and MAX channel brands in India—to just over 94 percent. SPT is acquiring the 32-percent stake of MSM owned by Grandway Global Holdings Limited …