World Screen

LONDON: Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment has set up the new indie production house Over The Top Productions, led by the company’s global head of television, Nigel Hall. Hall has been with Syco for nine years, and was instrumental in the development of such entertainment hits as The X Factor and …

HILVERSUM: Mark Ramakers, the chief financial officer of Talpa Holding, is leaving the company. Ramakers, who is on the board of the Talpa Media Group, will officially resign as CFO once the company has pinpointed someone to replace him. Having spent more than 15 years holding financial and management positions, mainly …

UNTERFÖHRING: News Corporation has raised its holding in Sky Deutschland from 49.9 percent to 54.4 percent, following a 348 million euros ($464 million) transaction for new Sky shares. Also as part of the deal, News Corp. will guarantee certain rights payments associated with Sky Deutschland’s Bundesliga broadcasting license and support …

ROME: Discovery Communications has purchased Switchover Media, which operates five networks in Italy. Switchover operates four free-to-air channels and one pay-TV network. The assets are the children’s channels K2 and Frisbee, the male-skewed GXT, the scripted crime network Giallo and factual channel Focus. Discovery currently operates two free DTT stations in Italy, …

LONDON: ITV has officially rebranded across all five of its U.K. channels, its six ITV Studios production offices and its distribution arm, ITV Studios Global Entertainment. The new brand identity is live across its main channels in the U.K. as well as online and on-demand products, including ITV Player. ITV Studios Global Entertainment and …

This interview originally appeared in the MIPCOM 2012 issue of TV Europe.   Those familiar with some of the best-known, critically acclaimed British drama exports of the last three decades will recognize the name Andrew Davies. The screenwriter’s long list of credits includes House of Cards, Pride and Prejudice, Vanity …

This interview originally appeared in the MIPCOM 2012 issue of TV Europe.   Cecile Frot-Coutaz, FremantleMedia’s recently appointed CEO, is best known for heading up the company’s North American operations, where she shepherded the huge hits American Idol, America’s Got Talent and The X Factor. She has been with the …

ENGLEWOOD: Liberty Global is set to hold approximately 58.4 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Telenet. Previously, Liberty Global had offered 35 euros ($45.35) per share for the remaining stake in Telenet Group Holding. The Belgian telecom company had rejected the $2.5 billion offer, saying that it was …

MIAMI: As the exclusive distributor for Rai, Italy’s national public broadcasting group, Rai Trade is contributing to the spread of Italian-made content throughout the world. Rai Trade will be at NATPE with an extensive Italian catalogue, which has been strengthened by the recent acquisitions of the film libraries of such …

LONDON: Amazon’s LOVEFiLM is delivering audiences on-demand access to hundreds of episodes of U.S. series such as 30 Rock, The Office and more, thanks to a deal with NBCUniversal International TV Distribution. The European service also has agreements with ABC, BBC and ITV. Through its new partnership with NBCU, LOVEFiLM can offer …