World Screen

BERLIN: The Walt Disney Company has firmed up a wide-ranging exclusive deal with Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland that includes the German free-TV premieres for a range of titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Disney/Pixar, Marvel and DreamWorks. The pact also includes series from ABC Studios, Disney Channel original movies and titles from …

LONDON: RTL Group and Virgin Media have joined Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the U.K., as its first associate members. RTL Group and Virgin Media will provide consultation and involvement across Thinkbox activities and within its working groups. Full shareholder status is reserved for TV broadcasters and their …

MUNICH: Sky Deutschland, which has surpassed the 3 million subscriber mark, plans to raise 300 million euros ($394 million) this year to finance investments in exclusive new content and innovative products and services. Sky Deutschland’s subscriber base reached 3.012 million at the end of 2011, by adding 359,000 customers, almost …

MUNICH: BBC Four has given a slot to SevenOne International’s Norwegian mobster series Lilyhammer, starring Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos). Lilyhammer is set to air on BBC Four in the U.K. It originally launched January 25 on Norway’s public broadcaster NRK1 and viewers in the U.S., Canada and Latin America …

PARIS: The two-day MIPCube event, held just ahead of the 2012 edition of MIPTV, has added to its lineup of speakers, which includes, among others, Tony Wang, the general manager of Twitter. Also on the roster is Allen DeBevoise, the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Machinima, a next-generation video entertainment …

LUXEMBOURG: Gerhard Zeiler, currently the CEO of RTL Group and a member of Bertelsmann’s executive board, is exiting the company as of April 18, with Anke Schäferkordt and Guillaume de Posch taking over responsibilities. Schäferkordt is presently the CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. She is to replace Zeiler on the Bertelsmann …

LONDON: After seven years as the CEO of LOVEFiLM, Simon Calver is leaving the company, to be replaced by Jim Buckle, currently the chief operating officer, as managing director. Calver is moving to the struggling mother-and-baby chain Mothercare to serve as its CEO. Calver joined LOVEFiLM in 2005, leading its …

STOCKHOLM: Net sales were up 6 percent year-on-year to SEK 13,473 million ($2.03 billion) for Modern Times Group (MTG), recorded in its full-year highlights. Operating income was SEK 1,933 million ($291 million) but fell to a net loss of SEK 1,289 million ($195.5 million), when non-recurring items and associated companies were …

STAMFORD: WWE and Baltijos TV (BTV) have closed a deal to bring the weekly series WWE Raw to Lithuania. A one-hour international version of WWE Raw will be broadcast in Lithuania every Friday. In the U.S., it is the longest running weekly episodic program. "We are extremely delighted to partner …

LONDON: The UKTV channel Watch has commissioned Lion Television to produce season three of Scream If You Know the Answer!, now titled Scream Extreme: USA after having moved the location of the game show to the U.S. Watch has partnered with The Travel Channel in the U.S. to share location, …