World Screen

BRUSSELS: The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia by BSkyB. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, since the activities of the three companies are geographically complementary. Its investigation showed that the geographic scope of the markets for the …

LONDON: The U.K.'s Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is going to start measuring viewing on iPad and Android tablets, marking an industry first for tracking consumption on these devices. The measurement solution was developed by Kantar Media in consultation with BARB, which lists among its backers the BBC, Channel 4, …

STOCKHOLM: Nice Entertainment Group has decided to merge its Danish subsidiaries Gong and Strix, as Gong's founder and CEO, Joachim Majholm, exits the company. Strix’s current CEO, Fredrik Hillerbrand, will now take on the responsibility for the entire Danish business unit. Together, the two companies currently have 14 TV series …

LONDON: BBC has ordered 40 additional episodes of the quiz show The Link from STV Productions and LTV Productions for broadcast during BBC One's daytime lineup. Hosted by actor Mark Williams (Father Brown, Blandings), The Link watches as three teams scramble to find the link between questions for a cash …

PARIS: Bouygues Telecom has signed an agreement with Netflix to provide access to the SVOD service on its Bbox Sensation set-top box and on its future Android TV box. Netflix will be available via these set-top boxes for customers to access directly on their TVs. They will be able to …

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland and HBO have extended their existing exclusive contract, through which the German outfit remains the home of HBO through the end of the decade. Sky will continue to exhibit HBO's programming to the end of 2019. All premium productions will continue to premiere exclusively on Sky in …

STOCKHOLM: Hanna Stjärne has been named CEO of the Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Stjärne currently serves as editor-in-chief and CEO at the publishing group UNT. She will take up her new position as SVT’s CEO within six months. Stjärne has had several executive positions in the public service radio company …

LONDON: Natasha Mitchell is joining Zodiak Media as VP of group strategy, coming from a strategy role at NBCUniversal. Mitchell will be working alongside a new executive management team to further build out Zodiak Media's global footprint. She will be responsible for the development of the group's corporate strategy, identifying …

STOCKHOLM: In ramping up its focus on digital, Sweden's TV4 Group has tapped Anna Rastner for the role of head of digital programs. Rastner is currently the head of editorial business development at Mittmedia. She will now take on responsibility for the enhancement and development of TV4 Group's television provision …

UNTERFÖHRING: The management board and supervisory board of Sky Deutschland have advised minority shareholders not to accept an offer from BSkyB, saying that the current bid undervalues the pay-TV operator. In July, BSkyB agreed to buy the 57-percent stake in Sky Deutschland that is owned by 21st Century Fox for …