World Screen

AMSTERDAM: Liberty Global has made some organizational changes to its Central and Eastern European operations, including Betzalel Kenigsztein, currently the managing director of UPC Hungary, becoming the managing director for the CEE region. Kenigsztein will be reporting to Diederik Karsten, the executive VP of Liberty Global’s European broadband operations. In this …

LONDON: BBC Knowledge and BBC HD are to become available for the first time on Turkey’s Digiturk on August 13. The channels are being launched on the satellite cable platform in conjunction with carriage extensions of BBC Entertainment and BBC World News. August highlights from BBC Knowledge include Planet Dinosaur, Steve Jobs: …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has made some changes to its Baltic management team, alongside the announcement that it is expanding the production company Paprika Latino to the region. Baiba Zuzena has been elevated to CEO of MTG’s Latvian free-TV and radio operations. She has been with MTG since 2004, most recently …

HILVERSUM: RTL Netherlands has purchased a majority stake in Videoland, a Dutch SVOD platform owned by The Entertainment Group. RTL Netherlands moves to the forefront of the Dutch VOD landscape with its 65-percent share in Videoland. The platform will continue to operate independently in the VOD market. Netflix previously announced its …

LONDON: Public service broadcasters (PSBs) in the U.K. have reduced their annual spending on first-run original programming by £384 million ($595 million) in the last five years, according to new figures from Ofcom. The media regulator’s annual review shows that in 2012, the total spend by PSBs in the U.K. was …

This interview originally appeared in the MIPTV 2013 issue of TV Europe.   Elisabeth Murdoch set up Shine TV in 2001 as an independent production company specializing in quality programming that would stand out and capture critical acclaim. Over the years, she acquired a number of highly creative and entrepreneurial …

This interview originally appeared in the MIPTV 2013 issue of TV Europe.   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 …

DUSSELDORF: A German court has reversed an approval by the country’s cartel office for Liberty Global’s acquisition of KabelBW. The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court has overturned the antitrust clearance, siding with Deutsche Telekom, which challenged the deal’s approval. The regulator must now review the merger again and assume a new …

LONDON: BT Group has signed a three-year agreement to provide Virgin Media TV customers with full access to the suite of BT Sport channels starting this weekend. The landmark deal delivers BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN to customers. BT Sport will be available at no extra cost for Virgin XL …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has prolonged its exclusive broadcasting rights for England’s Barclays Premier League in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania until the end of the 2015-16 season. The rights, which span all platforms, include exclusive coverage of all 38 rounds of the Barclays Premier League. Around 100 matches will …