World Screen

LONDON: Mockumentary filmmaker Christopher Guest and Irish actor Chris O’Dowd are on board for Family Tree, a new doc-style comedy series for BBC Two and HBO. The eight-part half-hour comedy will be similar to other mockumentaries from Guest, such as This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show. The series will star …

LONDON: Within seven months since its launch in the U.K. and Ireland, Netflix has amassed 1 million subscribers. According to a recent survey by YouGov for Netflix, 10 percent of the U.K. population now spends two hours or more of their day watching TV shows through the Internet. Comedy and …

LONDON: Bakori Davis, formerly the VP of content distribution at Viacom Media Network, has been hired as the VP of commercial operations for A+E Networks UK, effective immediately. In the newly created position, Davis will manage channel distribution in Central and Eastern Europe, the Nordics, Greece, Benelux, Iceland, Africa, the …

LONDON: Sky has brought its NOW TV video streaming service to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform, where it is available starting today. The Xbox 360 version of the app delivers HD-ready video as well. Existing customers can log into the new Xbox 360 app for access to Sky’s content at no …

MUNICH: Sky Deutschland has secured a package of film rights from Tele München Group (TMG), including the exclusive TV premieres for Magic Mike, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 and more. The agreement provides Sky with the exclusive German pay-TV rights for a number of current blockbusters as well as library titles. …

PARIS: Novavision has brought on Allison Glasgow-Lafontaine to handle sales for such territories as Europe, North America and the Middle East. Glasgow-Lafontaine takes over for Nathalie Nenning. Starting in September, Nenning will be located in Singapore, with plans to launch her in project in the acquisitions and distribution of French …

LUXEMBOURG: RTL Group posted revenue of 2.81 billion euros ($3.5 billion) for the first half of the year, while net profit dipped 15 percent. The company attributed the gain to higher revenue from Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland and FremantleMedia as well as effects from exchange rates. Profit for the period attributable …

LONDON: In a move that bolsters its scripted production efforts in the U.K., Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has purchased a majority stake in Left Bank Pictures. SPT will distribute future finished TV programs and formats from the Left Bank catalogue and also has a first-look distribution option on feature films …

LONDON: There have been a wealth of new commissions made across drama, comedy and factual genres at BBC Two, which is also planning a year-long celebration of British inventions. In the way of drama, the channel has ordered Wolf Hall, a six-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and …

LONDON: Among the shows that Channel 4 has lined up for its fall programming roster are the drama The Fear and the brand-new factual series 999: What’s Your Emergency? Other factual series for Channel 4 include Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial (working title); Guy Martin: Building Britain; The Aristocracy (working …