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LONDON: The global sports star David Beckham is becoming an ambassador for the Sky brand, as part of an effort to support grassroots sports and encourage participation across the U.K. and Ireland. As a Sky ambassador, Beckham will be featured in adverts to promote the range of sport and innovative …

LONDON: Cineflix Studios is working with the acclaimed drama producer Tony Wood on the new indie production outfit Buccaneer Media, which will develop and produce a range of scripted programming for broadcasters worldwide. The new company already has two projects in place with networks in North America. Buccaneer also signed …

AMSTERDAM: New research from Parks Associates finds that more than 70 percent of pay-TV subscribers in Western Europe are able to receive TV Everywhere/multiscreen service. In Eastern Europe, however, multiscreen availability is just above 25 percent of pay-TV households. ARPU remains low, which has led many operators to dabbling with new business models, …

LONDON: ITV plc has acquired the independent producer The Garden, which is behind the hits 24 Hours in A&E and The Audience, for £18 million ($27.4 million). Launched in June 2010, The Garden has supplied a number of factual programs to the BBC and Channel 4. For Channel 4, the company did …

LONDON: BBC Three has added the July 2013 Women’s European Football Championship to its programming lineup. The network will broadcast a number of live matches and highlights throughout the tournament, which will take place in Sweden from July 10 to July 28. A preview show is set to air on …

LONDON: The BBC has selected Danny Cohen, the controller of BBC One, as its new director of television. This makes the final addition to director-general Tony Hall’s senior management team. Cohen will sit on the BBC’s executive and management boards. He will be overseeing BBC One, Two, Three and Four, …

MUNICH: Dr. Ludwig Bauer has announced that after eight years with Tele München Group he is leaving the company at the end of 2013. Bauer helped reorganize the launch of TELE 5 in Germany and also was instrumental in the development of the ATV channels in Austria. When ATV was acquired …

EL SEGUNDO: The closure of about half of Blockbuster’s stores in the U.K. is set to cause a 22-percent drop in Blu-ray and DVD rental revenues in the country to £202 million this year, according to IHS. DVD rentals will drop 53.2 percent to 15.4 million, and Blu-ray rentals will take a …

HONG KONG: Fashion One has inked a new carriage deal in Thailand and has announced the commission of a local style series in Taiwan. Freestyle, from Banana Limited, focuses on trendsetters and hotspots in Taiwan, where Fashion One is carried on Chunghwa MOD and CNS. The series premieres this summer. “This is …

VIENNA: Following the departure of Dr. Ludwig Bauer from Tele München Group, Martin Gastinger is becoming the CEO of the ATV broadcasting group. Gastinger has been working at ATV since April 2007. He currently is the program director for ATV, but moves into the CEO role as of May 1. Gastinger …