World Screen

PARIS/LONDON: Bolstering its position in the TV space, STUDIOCANAL has picked up a majority interest in British outfit RED, whose credits include the BAFTA-winning Last Tango in Halifax on BBC One. CANAL+ Group's studio already owns a majority stake in TANDEM Communications. The deal for RED advances its strategy to …

LONDON: FremantleMedia has set up a production operation in Oslo, Norway, tapping the Norwegian producer Petter Testmann-Koch to serve as managing director. Testmann-Koch will be working to set up the FremantleMedia Norge operations and build the production team. He is responsible for day-to-day management as well as for driving the …

LONDON: BBC Two has planned a follow-up to the BAFTA-winning comedy Twenty Twelve with the newly commissioned W1A. Hugh Bonneville plays Ian Fletcher, the ex head of the Olympic deliverance commission, who is now taking on the role of head of values at the BBC. The series is not envisioned …

MUNICH: Irina Ignatiew has become the deputy managing director of global scripted distribution for Red Arrow International, while Henrik Pabst has been named deputy managing director for global format and factual distribution. Ignatiew has been promoted at the company from her previous role as the senior VP of sales for …

NEW YORK: In this video interview, Jeremy Fox, the founder and CEO of DRG, speaks with TV Europe about the advantages of the MTG Studios acquisition, while emphasizing that the company is still a "small distributor looking after independent producers."   DRG was built on three pillars: factual, fiction and …

LONDON: NBCUniversal has decided to shut down The Style Network in the U.K., where it has been operating since 2008. The channel will end transmissions as of December 9. The focus in the U.K. will be on the existing Universal Channel, E!, Syfy and Movies 24 brands. In the U.S., …

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland has purchased Constantin Sport's production company Plazamedia, along with acquiring a minority stake in Sport1 and Constantin Sport Marketing. The purchase price for the transactions is around 57.5 million euros ($78.6 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. The acquisition of Plazamedia significantly enhances Sky's production capacities, …

UNTERFÖHRING: Seasoned television execs Taco Ketelaar and Kaspar Pflueger are on board to join the Sat.1 programming team in early 2014. Ketelaar will become the senior VP of prime-time entertainment on February 1. In that position, he will oversee all of Sat.1's prime-time entertainment and reality formats. Ketelaar most recently …

NEW YORK/ROME: A+E Networks has set up a Rome-based company to launch and operate branded channels and services in Italy: A+E Networks Italy. A+E Networks will launch Crime & Investigation on Sky Italia on December 16. It is working with FOX International Channels to assume full ownership of HISTORY Italy …

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland has secured the extension of broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in Germany through 2018, and will show 146 matches live per season, 128 of them exclusively. Sky Deutschland now has the rights for the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Sky secured the live broadcast and …