World Screen

SYDNEY: The Seven Network in Australia has aligned with key executives from Maverick Television to create a new U.K.-based venture, 7Wonder. 7Wonder will focus on the creation of new TV programs and formats, initially for the U.K. market. It is a joint venture between Seven, Alexandra Fraser, Liza Abbott and …

LONDON/OSLO: Nordic World has scored an exclusive representation deal with TV2 Denmark, the country's largest commercial broadcaster. Nordic World will now take on distribution for all of TV2's finished programming, including the hit drama The Seaside Hotel. It will also distribute TV2's formats, which until now has been handled by …

LUXEMBOURG: RTL Group has posted a profit gain of 45.7 percent to 870 million euros ($1.2 billion) for 2013, as the TV ad market improved in most of the firm's European territories. Revenue, however, dipped 1.8 percent to 5.88 billion euros ($8.09 billion), as high revenues from RTL Netherlands and …

LONDON: Passion Distribution has wrapped up a slew of deals in Spain for more than 150 hours of content. Mediaset nabbed two shows from Passion’s Scripps Networks International catalogue: the 13×60-minute eighth and ninth seasons of Cupcake Wars and the 13×30-minute first and second seasons of Million Dollar Contractor. The …

LONDON: Among the new commissions for Channel 4 is Taking New York, a constructed reality series being produced by Twofour for E4. The 8×1-hour Taking New York format will feature a group of twentysomething British friends who are striving to make their American dreams come true. The format will begin …

LONDON: Ralph Lee, Channel 4’s head of factual, has been promoted to deputy chief creative officer, though he’ll also maintain his existing remit. Lee will deputize for Jay Hunt, the British network’s chief creative officer, on creative decision-making across all of the company’s channels and platforms, and he’ll lead on …

LONDON: Total TV advertising revenue in the U.K. rose 3.5 percent in 2013 to reach a new record high of £4.63 billion ($7.75 billion), according to full-year revenue figures provided to Thinkbox by the U.K.'s commercial broadcasters. 2013 marked the fourth consecutive year that TV ad revenue had growth in …

LONDON: The U.K.’s ITV has given the go-ahead to a second season of its hit comedy revival Birds of a Feather, scheduled to start filming later this year. Elaine Bedell, the network’s director of comedy and entertainment, and Myfanwy Moore, the comedy commissioning editor, ordered the series from QuirkyMedia Stuff …

LOS ANGELES: Last week's fourth edition of DISCOP Istanbul, organized by Basic Lead, saw attendee figures increase by a record-breaking 33 percent. The three-day event, which moved to the International Convention & Exhibition Center, attracted 1,048 delegates. There was a 52-percent rise in the number of qualified buyers attending. Sixty-seven …

LONDON: British distributor Power has sold more than 50 hours of mystery programming to Tricolor TV, Russia’s largest satellite-TV operator. The deal was for a package of crime films taken from Power’s TV movie catalogue. This includes nine Mystery Woman titles, a series of films starring Kellie Martin as the …