World Screen

BRUSSELS: The European Union has cleared the way for HBO and the Dutch cable giant Ziggo to launch the joint-venture pay-TV network HBO Nederland. The EU’s competition watchdog, the European Commission, declared that the deal would not bring up an competition issues. "On the contrary, the proposed transaction will increase …

LONDON: Consumers in the U.K. are not being educated by retailers about the benefits and basics of Internet-connected TV, indicates the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media. Informa estimates that 35 percent of all TVs sold this year in the U.K. will be Smart TVs, though this is due …

LONDON: Coronation Street has received four nominations for this year’s National Television Awards, while Doctor Who, EastEnders and Emmerdale follow with three nods each. The period drama Downton Abbey scored its first National Television Award nomination, facing off in the drama category with Doctor Who, Merlin and last year’s winner, …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) is marking the 20th anniversary of the launch of Viasat’s pay-TV services by rebranding the TV1000 movie channel across the Nordic region as Viasat Film. Viasat will also launch four new Viasat Film premium pay-TV HD movie channels in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland on …

MAINZ: ZDF Enterprises is commemorating the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic with a mini-series from Julian Fellowes and Nigel Stafford-Clark and a documentary about the catastrophe, offering both to German-speaking territories and broadcasters in Central and Eastern Europe. The documentary special Saving the Titanic is the first-ever documentary …

BARCELONA: Mediaproducción, the content subsidiary of Mediapro, has emerged from voluntary bankruptcy protection, which it filed in June 2010. Mediaproducción was declared by Commercial Court No. 7 in Barcelona as having met all of the objections raised by its creditors. I can now return to its normal day-to-day operations. The …

LONDON: The growth in TV viewing on computers and tablets is beginning to plateau in the U.K., likely due to the increasing PVR penetration, according to new figures from Barb. In November 2011, 14.9 percent of respondents cited watching TV shows on a PC, laptop or tablet in the previous week. …

LONDON: ESPN in the U.K. is to introduce a new schedule that will feature around nine hours of live studio sports analysis and commentary every Sunday as well as the sports comedy chat show Off the Ball. The new lineup, which launches January 15, will include key football and rugby …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has taken a one-time hit of SEK 3,191 million ($466 million) linked to the acquisition of Bulgaria’s Nova Televizia in 2008 and the upcoming closure of its Slovenian station. MTG will shut down its loss-making Slovenian free-TV network TV3 in the coming months, with a …

LONDON: Alan Yentob, the creative director at the BBC, has been named a non-executive director on the board of BBC Studios and Post Production. The company, which offers studios, post production and digital media services to the media industry, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It is based at …