BEVERLY HILLS: Several additional dramas and comedies from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution are headed to Netflix’s streaming platform in the U.K. and Ireland, including the brand new season of Arrested Development. The three seasons of the critically acclaimed sitcom produced for the FOX network from 2003 to 2006 are …
World Screen
ORF-Enterprise Reports Strong Business in CEE
June 28, 2012
BUDAPEST: ORF-Enterprise has concluded a number of deals with broadcasters from across Central and Eastern Europe, including the sale of a package of 50 hours of natural-history programming into Hungary. MTVA Hungary picked up 50-plus hours for Duna to air in 2012 and 2013. Another package, of around 160 hours, …
Vivendi Chief Resigns
June 29, 2012
PARIS: Jean-Bernard Lévy is stepping down after seven years at the helm of Vivendi following a clash with the board over the strategic direction of the group. Lévy has run the company as chairman of the management board since 2005; he joined Vivendi in 2002 as COO. In a statement, …
GroupM: U.K. Ad Spending “Robust” Compared to European Neighbors
July 2, 2012
LONDON: Advertising spending in the U.K. across measured media is forecast to increase 3.4 percent this year, according to GroupM’s This Year, Next Year report, which says that the country’s ad expenditures and growth are well above the anticipated levels in other Western European territories. The report, This Year, Next …
New Report Spotlights Sky’s Economic Impact
July 5, 2012
LONDON: Sky’s impact on the U.K. economy has been evaluated for the first time in a study conducted by Oxford Economics, which finds that the British broadcasting group contributed £5.4 billion to the country’s GDP in 2011. The report, The Economic Impact of Sky on the U.K., shows that Sky …
Shakeup at ITV Online Division
July 5, 2012
LONDON: Following news of the departure of Robin Pembrooke, ITV has appointed Julian March as the new director of online, with plans to split the division, putting around 40 jobs at risk. Pembrooke, who joined ITV in 2010, will leave the company at the end of summer. Pembrooke had been …
Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management Finds U.K. Home
July 5, 2012
SANTA MONICA/LONDON: Comedy Central UK has picked up the exclusive British broadcasting rights for the new Charlie Sheen sitcom Anger Management via a deal with Lionsgate’s international television division. Lionsgate International has sold the show in Canada, Latin America, Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and Poland. Debmar-Mercury brought the …
George Entwistle Named Director-General of the BBC
July 5, 2012
LONDON: Mark Thompson will hand over his responsibilities as the director-general of the BBC to George Entwistle this fall. Thompson announced in March that he was leaving the BBC. Entwistle, who is currently the director of BBC Vision, will take over the role, at a reported starting salary of £450,000 per …
Susanne Müller Shifts from ZDF Enterprises to ZDF
July 5, 2012
MAINZ: Susanne Müller is transitioning from her role as head of the co-production and program-development division at ZDF Enterprises to a new post where she will lead the feature-film sector of German pubcaster ZDF. Müller has been serving in her current role at ZDF Enterprises since 2008. From 2006 she had …
New OZ, NZ Sales at ITV Studios Global Entertainment
July 5, 2012
LONDON: A raft of dramas and comedies from the ITV Studios Global Entertainment catalogue are headed to broadcasters across Australia and New Zealand, with new sales totaling around 50 hours of programming. UKTV in Australia went for The Syndicate, which follows a group of supermarket workers who suddenly strike it rich …