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LONDON: BBC Two has commissioned Hebburn, a comedy based on comedian Jason Cook’s upbringing in North East England. Cook, who is writing the show along with Graham Duff, will play the lovable yet rogue Ramsey, inspired by Chris Ramsey. The character version of Jason leaves his small town for Manchester …

LONDON: Total advertising revenue for television in the U.K. was up 2.2 percent in 2011, reaching a new record high of £4.36 billion ($6.85 billion), according to Thinkbox. The total U.K. ad market rose approximately 1.5 percent, which means that linear TV’s share of total advertising has increased for the …

LOS ANGELES/PARIS: The second edition of DISCOP Istanbul had a 25-percent increase in attendance over last year’s inaugural edition. A total of 337 companies from 51 countries and 628 delegates attended the event, with 128 international exhibiting companies. This is an increase of 33 exhibiting companies compared to last year. …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide is to launch licensing programs for Kirstie Allsopp, BBC GoodFood and Gardeners’ World, which join MasterChef as key brands in the company’s licensing portfolio. Last spring, Kirstie Allsop launched her debut range of home ware and gifts in Marks & Spencer, which continues into 2012. New lines …

SYDNEY: Beyond Distribution has secured sales in Sweden and Holland for 50 hours of programming, in addition to 90 hours sold into Belgium. The Swedish pubcaster SVT licensed two seasons of The Will: Family Secrets Revealed, alongside Damage Control, I Don’t Have Time For This and Riverdance: Today’s Stars. Also …

LONDON: Channel 4 has unveiled plans to launch a new TV channel, 4seven, which will allow viewers to watch repeats of its most popular shows starting this summer. The channel has been developed under the code name Project Shuffle. It will allow viewers who missed Channel 4’s live broadcast the …

LONDON/TORONTO/LOS ANGELES: Entertainment One (eOne) is planning to expand its European television operations, with Peter Emerson, the president of eOne Television International, relocating to the company’s London hub. Emerson will continue to build on eOne’s TV slate. He continues to hold responsibility and oversee all international sales, co-productions and distribution …

LONDON: Zodiak Rights has appointed Glen Hansen as the senior VP of acquisitions and business development of North America. Hansen, who joins Zodiak Rights from FOX LOOK, where he was the head of sales for finished programming and formats, is responsible for spearheading Zodiak Rights’ third party acquisitions in the …

LONDON: The UKTV channel Watch has picked up the North American version of Primeval, which is based on the hit U.K. series from Impossible Pictures. Production has begun on SPACE’s original action series Primeval: New World, which will be distributed internationally by Entertainment One (eOne). The last installment of the …

MODENA: The Panini Group, which celebrated its 50th birthday last year, has launched the new Panini Media unit, which operates as part of The Licensing Machine (TLM) and is focused on the TV distribution arena. Panini Media has a catalogue that spans sci-fi, crime, fantasy and drama, as well as animated …