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GENEVA: Members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) such as Austria’s ORF, DR in Denmark and and ARD and ZDF in Germany are teaming up to help bring Internet-connect TV into European homes in 2012. More than 20 EBU members—including RTBF in Belgium, YLE in Finland, Czech TV, RAI in Italy and …

VIENNA: At this year’s German Screenings, which took place from November 27 to December 1 in Berlin, ORF-Enterprise landed deals on a number of documentaries, including offerings from the Universum strand, as well as fiction titles. The organizers of the German Screenings—ORF-Enterprise, Telepool, Bavaria Media, Studio Hamburg, united docs and …

MUNICH: MTV Networks Germany has scored the rights to SevenOne International’s Funny Clips library. Funny Clips, a collection of more than 3,000 home videos, will air on VIVA and Comedy Central. The collection has not previously been exploited internationally. "What would life be without all those embarrassing but comical situations …

LONDON: Channel 4 is launching the new game-show format The Bank Job, which will be hosted by George Lamb, in January. The show features four contestants who are taken to a real bank vault filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds of cash. To win the game, players must answer …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide is bringing the Global iPlayer trial app to Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch, alongside scoring a deal to add programming from DRG to the on-demand service. The trial service was previously available on the Apple iPad, with the iPhone and iPod touch coming as the latest additions. The …

STOCKHOLM: The Modern Times Group (MTG) has extended its hold on the exclusive live broadcast rights for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship to 2017. Infront Sports & Media has assured MTG the rights for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and Division 1 for its free-TV channels and Viasat Sport …

DOHA: Al-Jazeera has been awarded the French broadcasting rights for the majority of the Champions League matches for the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons, beating out Canal+. The deal is for four of five available media packages, including 133 matches, to air live across its TV channels, Internet and mobile services. …

LONDON: Panini Media has landed the international distribution rights for the drama Signs, a co-production budgeted at $12 million. Production on season one of 12 hour-long episodes is slated for March 2012. Delivery is planned for the end of 2012. The series is a Canadian production with international production partners …

LONDON: Shine Group and youth engagement specialist Livity have partnered to create a new production company that is exclusively dedicated to young content makers from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. The as-yet-unnamed venture will be headed by Ben Hall, previously the managing director of Shine Group division Shine Network, and will …

LONDON: Channel 5 has scooped up the exclusive U.K. rights for the ABC Family drama The Lying Game for its 5* digital channel, along with the series Gilmore Girls. The Lying Game, which is set for prime time on 5* starting next spring, is based on the novels by Sara …