World Screen

LUXEMBOURG/VANCOUVER: Expanding its reach in the online video market, RTL Group has purchased a 51-percent shareholding in BroadbandTV, which is YouTube’s fifth largest multi-channel network. RTL Group has made an initial investment of 27 million euros ($36 million) as part of a planned series of investments in the company. BroadbandTV currently …

STRASBOURG: Susanne Nikoltchev has been appointed as the executive director of the European Audiovisual Observatory, effective July 1. Nikoltchev is an international media lawyer who focuses on audiovisual legislation. She has headed the company’s department of legal information since 1998. The European Audiovisual Observatory is a division of the Council of Europe …

Central Europe has caught up to Western Europe in many ways-and that’s not entirely good news for the television business, as the eurozone crisis has dragged down economic growth, hitting the advertising market.   ZenithOptimedia’s research shows the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland performing more like France, Germany or the …

NEW YORK: Loni Farhi, the president of SPI International, talks with TV Europe about keeping pace with technology in order to serve both platforms’ and viewers’ needs. TV EUROPE: Tell us about SPI International’s growth. FARHI: We started in 1990 as a content-sales company. We began attending MIPTV in 1987, and …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide has hired David Gibbons for the newly created post of director of global operations, effective August 28. In his new position, Gibbons will be charged with overseeing technology, property, procurement and operations/sales fulfillment. He is expected to help organize the company’s distribution and audience fulfillment processes. Gibbons …

HELSINKI: Kristiina Werner-Autio, who has been serving as the senior VP of television for Finland’s Nelonen Media, has taken up the role of program director for MTV Media. Werner-Autio had been responsible for Nelonen Media’s TV channels since 2008. Before this, she was at Nelonen as the head of international and domestic …

ST. JULIAN’S: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is calling for urgent action by the Greek government to reopen public broadcaster ERT while it attempts to overhaul the organization. Members of the EBU gathered in Malta for the 70th General Assembly, where the union expressed its disappointment and concern over the …

PARIS: The Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF), the French national media company comprising RFI, France 24 and Monte Carlo Doualiya, has been renamed as France Médias Monde. The name was changed to make it "less administrative" and easier to understand internationally. It does not replace the RFI, France 24 …

LONDON: Indigo Film & Television has named Sam Partner as its head of sales. In his new role, Partner will supervise the company’s sales team. He is also expected to execute sales strategies and increase sales targets while managing territories in North America and Latin America, as well as French-, …

LONDON: Catch-up TV currently accounts for a fifth of TV viewing in the U.K., according to the first-ever YouView census into national television habits for 2013. In a typical week, the average TV viewer in the U.K. watches around nine hours of television; six hours of TV use for the average home is …