World Screen

LONDON: David Frank's Dial Square 86 is prepping the launch of The RightsXchange (TRX), a new online marketplace for the sale and acquisition of TV content rights. The new service will be led by Matthew Frank as CEO and Nigel Pickard as president, with David Frank as executive chairman. A …

AMSTERDAM/LONDON: Endemol Shine Group has unveiled its new commercial partnerships team, which brings together the Shine 360° and Endemol international commercial groups under the same banner. The new team will be managed by Branco Scherer, who is promoted to managing director of commercial partnerships. Scherer's responsibilities include identifying and investing …

LONDON: Alex Marshall has been hired as COO of Archery Pictures, a film and TV production venture launched last year by Liza Marshall and Kris Thykier. Marshall had been serving as COO of Warp Films since 2008, serving as executive producer on many of the company's productions, including Four Lions …

HILVERSUM: Talpa Media is purchasing the remaining 50.1 percent stake in Talpa Germany from Axel Springer, giving it full control of the German production outfit. Talpa acquired 49.9 percent of Talpa Germany, previously named Schwartzkopff TV, in December 2014. Mutual options for a total sale were granted in the course …

LONDON: Lucas Church is leaving his role as chairman of Endemol Shine UK this fall. Church had been appointed to his current post when Endemol's U.K. business was combined with Shine Group's in January. He first joined the company as head of business affairs at the U.K. label Initial in …

NEW YORK: SPI International has announced that the FilmBox HD channel is being offered on blizoo, a leading cable TV operator in Bulgaria. FilmBox HD provides a selection of movie genres, including drama, comedy, thriller and horror, as well as television series. The network has launched on blizoo as part …

LONDON: Dan Korn, who most recently was serving as head of special projects at Discovery Networks International, has joined STV Productions in the role of creative director, with a particular focus on specialist factual and returnable programming. Korn will be based at STV Productions’ office in London and will take …

LONDON: UKTV’s comedy channel Gold is set to debut sometime this year Legends of Stand-Up & Bernard Righton, a six-part series celebrating the world’s greatest comedians. Performer John Thomson will host the show as his alter ego, club comedian Bernard Righton. Archive footage will be used to highlight routines by …

LAUSANNE: All TV and multiplatform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2018–2024 period have been awarded to Discovery Communications, the parent company of Eurosport, in a deal valued at 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion). Discovery has committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of …

LONDON: A new report from SNL Kagan, which has expanded its coverage to include key markets in Europe, finds that with the slowing U.S. ad market and rising programming costs, major media conglomerates are increasingly eyeing the European pay-TV channels business. The research firm reports that in the U.K., total …