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LONDON: Elisabeth Murdoch, the chairman of Shine Group, has signed on to deliver the keynote address at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. Murdoch will be the first woman to deliver the lecture since Janet Street-Porter in 1995. She is only the fourth woman since its inception in 1976. …

LOS GATOS: Netflix has made its official debut in the U.K. and Ireland, available for a monthly fee of £5.99 following a one month free trial. Neil Hunt, the chief product officer at Netflix, announced the launch yesterday. "I’m proud to have led the product team that brings Netflix to …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has signed an agreement to acquire Latvijas NeatkarÄ«gā TelevÄ«zija (LNT), the second largest free-TV operator in Latvia. LNT broadcasts national channel LNT, the Russian-language channel TV5 and entertainment channel LMK. This adds to MTG’s existing free-TV operations in Latvia, TV3, 3+ and TV6 channels. The …

LONDON: Sky has purchased a 10-percent stake in the zeebox social media service, with plans to integrate the technology into its own mobile apps to create an "augmented TV" experience. The functionality will allow Sky consumers to connect with friends around TV shows, find information about what’s on TV and …

LONDON: ITV has extended its broadcast rights deal for live coverage and highlights of the Tour de France until 2015. In a new agreement with the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), ITV4 will continue to broadcast live daily coverage throughout the Tour, as well as daily evening highlights. ITV will also …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide has secured a range of content deals with the Spanish digital platforms Telefonica, Youzee and Cameo. Cameo has acquired almost 170 hours of content from BBC Worldwide for its VOD platform Filmin, including the comedy and drama titles Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show, The Thick of It, …

MUNICH/PARIS: StudioCanal has purchased a majority share in Tandem Communications, marking its first major move into the TV business. Tandem is behind such products as The Pillars of the Earth, Dune, The Company and Dragons’ World. On the Tandem slate for 2012 are World Without End, based on Ken Follett’s …

COPENHAGEN: Egmont has increased its ownership in TV 2 of Norway from 50 percent to 100 percent. Egmont will pay 2.1 billion NOK ($350.1 million) for the remaining 50-percent share that was previously owned by A-pressen. Egmont, which co-founded TV 2 in 1991, now owns 100 percent of Norway’s largest …

MAINZ: Having previously served as the sales manager for CEE and German-speaking territories at ZDF Enterprises, Ralf Rückauer has now been upped to head of sales. Rückauer is responsible for the sales of full-length programming. Rainer Hastrich, the director of ZDF.archive and contunico, and his team will continue to lead …

SARATOGA/LONDON: Roku, a platform that delivers online content to TV sets, has expanded into Europe and is offering its streaming players for purchase in the U.K. and Ireland. Roku’s best-selling U.S. models—Roku LT and Roku 2 XS—are available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk. Roku currently feature more than 40 channels of …