World Screen

BONN: Peter Limbourg, currently the senior VP of news and political information of ProSiebenSat.1, has been elected as the new director-general for Deutsche Welle (DW). The 17-member Broadcasting Board elected Limbourg as the successor to Erik Bettermann, whose term ends on September 30. Bettermann has been in charge of Germany’s international …

While ZDF celebrates 50 years, there is another birthday this year in the German public broadcaster’s family: its commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises, marks its 20th year in the international distribution and co-production business. President and CEO Alexander Coridass talks about the company’s many accomplishments, which are all focused on one …

PARIS: This MIPTV Novovision is offering up Pop Toon, a large collection of international cartoons from the golden age of animation. Pop Toon, which already has 23 pre-buys, consists of 104×22-minute short-format, dialogue-free animated shows, featuring such characters as Casper, Betty Boop, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, to …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide has agreed to sell the travel-guide business Lonely Planet to NC2 Media. The exchange is for AU$75 million (£51.5 million) for 100 percent of Lonely Planet with AU$60 million (£41.2 million) paid on completion and AU$15 million (£10.3 million) paid in one year’s time. NC2 Media is …

LONDON: There are a wealth of new shows coming to Channel 4, including the French supernatural crime thriller Rebound (Les Revenants). Jay Hunt, the chief creative officer at the channel, announced a number of new programs coming to Channel 4. Among them, The Murder Trail features the first-ever use of …

LONDON: Sky’s Internet TV service NOW TV is enabling pay-as-you-go access to Sky Sports. NOW TV is making the Sky Sports offering available on a flexible basis, with no contract, set-up costs or installation. Customers can enjoy live sports action with the touch of a button across connected services such as …

COLOGNE: Dirk Schweitzer, who has worked at the German companies RTL Television and Tele München Group, has taken on the role of managing director of Splendid Film. Splendid Film is part of the Splendid Medien group, which is an independent producer, distributor and licensor. In the new role, Schweitzer will …

MADRID: Televisión Española’s programming is going to be showcased at MIPTV by RTVE’s commercial department. Titles on offer include Isabel, a fictional historical series about the reign of Isabella I of Castile. The 13-episode production has become one of Televisión Española’s top hits this season, bringing in more than 4.6 million …

MUNICH: A selection of event movies, feature films, series and documentaries comprise the slate that Global Screen is bringing to this year’s MIPTV. One of the event movies to be showcased is Heroes—originally titled Helden—which centers on a group of Geneva scientists who accidentally created a black hole that is affecting …

BERLIN: CBS Studios International (CBSSI) has struck up a licensing pact with Watchever for its online subscription on-demand service. Dexter, NCIS: Los Angeles, 90210, Nurse Jackie and Nubm3rs as well as Twin Peaks and Californication are part of the agreement. Watchever customers can instantly watch these shows whenever they’d like. …