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LONDON: Danny Boyle’s Olympic opening ceremony garnered nearly 27 million viewers in the U.K. on BBC One and set records in the U.S. on NBC as well as in Canada. The average viewership on BBC One for the four-hour event was 22.4 million. The ceremony had a 82 percent share …

ZURICH: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken over the marketing, planning and organization of the Rose d’Or Festival brand following a restructure within Ringier’s entertainment division, and will move the event to a new venue, in Lucerne. Ringier took over Rose d’Or in 2009 from Freddy Burger Management. The …

LOS ANGELES: Nearly 500 companies have already signed up to attend the next edition of DISCOP Istanbul, which is set for March 5 to 7, 2013. More than 250 broadcasters, pay-TV platforms, IPTV services and other platforms are expected. The conference will continue to support the development of Western Asia’s …

PREMIUM: Hans-Holger Albrecht, who is stepping down from Modern Times Group this September, tells World Screen Newsflash about how the company has been working with advertisers amid challenging economic times across Europe.   WS: How has MTG been working to maintain and increase ad revenues? ALBRECHT: Demand is still higher …

LONDON: LOVEFiLM subscribers in the U.K. and Germany are gaining streaming access to the Miramax library, which houses such titles as There Will Be Blood and The Aviator. Starting this summer, titles such as Sin City, Kill Bill and Jackie Brown will be available on demand through the Amazon service …

STOCKHOLM: Jørgen Madsen has been named group president and CEO of Modern Times Group (MTG), effective September 15, following the resignation of Hans-Holger Albrecht. Madsen has been on MTG’s executive management team since 2000. He became the executive VP of the company’s Nordic broadcasting operations in October 2011. Prior to …

PARIS: MIPCOM has aligned with Lifetime Networks for the industry’s first Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, which will be held on Monday, October 8 at the Carlton in Cannes. The invitation-only lunch, organized by Reed MIDEM, will serve as a senior-level networking opportunity, providing a platform for women in …

LONDON: A House of Lords committee has recommended that television services in the U.K. should be broadcast over the Internet in a bid to free up more bandwidth for other uses. The report from the Select Committee on Communications, entitled Broadband for All: An Alternative Vision, states: "It is likely …

LONDON/BELGRADE: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) is going to premiere Comedy Central Extra in Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Herzegovina and Croatia. Comedy Central Extra, geared toward adults aged 18 to 34, will launch on August 1 and will be distributed by SBB-Telemach Group in Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian. The new …

MUNICH: Several changes have been made within the executive team at ProSiebenSat.1, as Jurgen Horner transitions to the full-time role of chairman of the board after having served in an acting capacity since the departure of Andreas Bartl. Horner, who was the head of Pro7, becomes the managing director of …