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LONDON: BBC and ITV have committed to sharing the official broadcast rights for the UEFA Euro 2012 in the U.K. The 31 matches of the competition will be broadcast live by both the BBC and ITV. They will split the games, each showing 16 matches, including the final, which both will broadcast. …

LONDON: Channel 4 has slated the hour-long special Rude Tube’s Epic Christmas to run on Christmas day, following the success of Rude Tube season five. Channel 4 commissioned October Films to produce the special, which is hosted by Alex Zane, who presents the 50 greatest online Christmas clips featuring bad …

LONDON: Lesley Douglas, the former controller of BBC Radio 2, has been made chief executive of the ALL3MEDIA company Lime Pictures. Douglas, who will start her new role in 2012, is currently the managing director of commercial media partnerships and Globe TV at Universal Music UK. She will take the …

LONDON: The U.K. regulator Ofcom has identified 20 sites for local TV stations should the proposed legislation get passed by Parliament. Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea are the locations Ofcom will advertise …

LONDON: Modern Times Group (MTG) exec Camilla Hammer has been appointed as the CEO of Shine Group’s sales and distribution division, Shine International. Hammer will be based in London, following Shine’s recent relocation from Los Angeles. She will lead an international team of 42, responsible for the exploitation of worldwide …

LONDON: Lucky Day Productions, a Zodiak Media Group company, has secured a number of new commissions, with production under way on four series expected in 2012 for BBC and Channel 4. Secret Location, a 20-episode hour-long series, was commissioned by Channel 4 for daytime. The new property format takes house …

PREMIUM: Gary Davey, the executive VP of programming at pay-TV platform Sky Deutschland, tells World Screen about his approach to acquisitions, nonlinear deals and windowing. WS: Can you tell us about your recent output deal with Tele München? DAVEY: One of the unique things about Germany is the influence of …

COLOGNE: Sony Pictures Television Sales Deutschland and the ProSiebenSat.1 Group have signed a VOD output deal that brings a host of new film and TV offerings to the maxdome service. Titles covered under the new deal include The Smurfs, Bad Teacher and Zookeeper. On the TV side, series such as Breaking Bad, …

MADRID: After two years of talks, the Spanish broadcasters Antena 3 and La Sexta have agreed to a merger deal, pending regulatory approval. The deal sees the smaller La Sexta absorbed into the Antena 3 Group. Shareholders of La Sexta will receive 7 percent of the newly formed group, with …

PARIS: Reed MIDEM has organized a two-day networking and live learning experience, MIPCube, which will focus on the game-changing innovations affecting the TV industry, to take place ahead of the 2012 edition of MIPTV. MIPCube will open in Cannes on March 30, with MIPTV following on April 1. Cindy Gallop, the former …