Top Stories

PARIS: Banijay Group is teaming up with the French producer Mediatic System on a brand-new channel for the CanalSat platform, Non-Stop People, dedicated to celebrity and entertainment news. The service will be a 24-hour news outlet focused on celebrities and entertainment. There will be a team of 30 journalists reporting from …

LONDON: Phil Clarke, currently the head of comedy and entertainment at Objective Productions, is joining Channel 4 as its new head of comedy. Clarke set up the comedy department at Objective in spring 2003, after having produced the first series of Peep Show in 2002. He was an executive producer …

LONDON: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has hired Richard Parsons as senior VP of corporate business and legal affairs for international production, effective later this month. In his new position, Parsons will manage corporate business affairs for SPT’s international production companies and supervise deal executions on acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic …

BUDAPEST: Will Harrison, whose previous stints include Disney, Time Warner and A&E Television Networks, has been tapped to fill the new post of COO at HBO Europe. Harrison will take on the new role as of January 2013. He will report to Linda Jensen, the CEO of HBO Europe. He …

SINGAPORE: Talent shows, quiz shows and period dramas have proven to be quite popular across Asian territories, says Isil Turksen, Global Agency’s sales director for Asia and Europe. “Therefore, we think that our products perfectly match with the current demands,” she adds. Indeed, the musical talent show Mom, Vote 4 …

LONDON: The U.K. is leading Europe in the adoption of both standalone OTT services as well as operator-owned multiscreen services, according to ABI Research. OTT penetration in the U.K. is expected to exceed 75 percent by 2017. For the same period, operator-owned TV everywhere services are forecast to reach 52-percent penetration. More than …

LONDON: Production has started in the U.K. on a new comedy series co-written and co-created by Christopher Guest (Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap) for BBC Two and HBO. Guest’s co-creator on the show is Jim Piddock (Best in Show, Too Much Sun, Independence Day). Guest and Piddock are executive …

BARCELONA/LONDON: The Walt Disney Company Spain & Portugal has struck up a partnership with Wuaki.tv to launch Disney Movies on Demand in Spain. The service will offer Wuaki.tv’s customers a selection of Disney and Disney/Pixar movies, which can be viewed any time on an on-demand basis. The selection includes such …

LONDON: Power has sold 200 hours of TV movies, series and mini-series to Chello Central Europe. The multiplatform, multi-territory agreement includes basic cable, SVOD and TVOD rights for Chello Central Europe’s Film Mania and Film Café channels in Hungary and Film Café in Romania. Titles involved in the deal include Doctor Zhivago, …

PREMIUM: Public broadcasters do well on Tuesday evenings in the biggest markets of continental Western Europe, as ratings results from November 20 proved this week. In Germany, Italy and Spain the biggest audiences were for programs on state-owned broadcasters. Tuesday in Germany belongs to ARD 1. It won the day …