World Screen

MUNICH/STAMFORD: The OTT WWE Network will become available in Germany in January 2016, delivering its original programming and pay-per-view events for a monthly fee. For $9.99 a month, subscribers will have access to the U.S. English-language version of WWE Network and get all 12 WWE pay-per-view events at no additional …

LONDON: Following an eight-way auction, DNA Films and TV has optioned television rights for Welsh novelist Neil Spring’s book The Watchers, published by Quercus. The sci-fi mystery novel is set against inexplicable happenings along the Pembrokeshire coastline and Cold War cover-ups at the Ministry of Defense. It blends fiction with …

PARIS: Hervé Michel, the director of international affairs at France Télévisions, has been elected president of TV France International by the board. Michel will take up the post on January 4, 2016. He founded and directed France Télévisions Distribution, the commercial arm of the French pubcaster, between 1992 and 2007, …

WARSAW: SPI International's Kino Polska TV has posted a 66-percent increase in net profit in the third quarter. For the period, the company said revenues were up by 19 percent to PLN 85.4 million ($21.4 million), driven by improved licensing revenues and gains in its FilmBox-branded channels. EBITDA rose by …

WARSAW: SPI International’s FilmBox Live app has premiered on Apple TV in Turkey and the CEE region. The app will feature all of the linear channels from SPI International’s FilmBox portfolio, including two sports channels (FightBox HD and Fast’nFunBox HD), a documentary channel (DocuBox HD), a movie channel devoted to …

LOS ANGELES: For its 2016 edition NATPE Europe is returning to Budapest, with the event set for June 27 to 30 at the InterContinental Hotel. In 2013, the market for Central and Eastern Europe buyers announced it was moving to Prague, where the last two editions have been held. The …

HELSINKI/LONDON: FremantleMedia has appointed former Endemol Shine executive Anne Wahlström as head of entertainment of its Finnish operation, effective January 1. Wahlström joins FremantleMedia Finland following the addition of Joonas Hytönen as the new managing director of the company earlier this month. Wahlström will report to Hytönen and sit on …

LONDON: Rights-management and collections specialist Compact Media has set up a £750,000 fund ($1.1 million) to invest in content, with Pilot Productions the first to receive financing from the company. Compact Media says it will initially focus on up to 20 production investments in original content over the next year. …

NEW YORK: Fashion One Television, whose channel brands are available to some 400 million homes on five continents, is acquiring the U.K.-based Fashion Television International. Fashion Television International manages the Fashion Television brand outside of its native Canada. It is being acquired by Fashion One from Madrid-based Desdemona Capital for …

LONDON: The BBC is looking to cut £150 million ($228 million) in costs, with plans to reduce its TV sports rights budget by £35 million ($53 million). The BBC said the cuts are meant to address a "shortfall in funding" identified earlier this year. The plan is for £50 million …