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MTG Shuffles Baltics Team, Expands Paprika Latino

August 7, 2013

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has made some changes to its Baltic management team, alongside the announcement that it is expanding the production company Paprika Latino to the region. Baiba Zuzena has been elevated to CEO of MTG’s Latvian free-TV and radio operations. She has been with MTG since 2004, most recently …

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RTL Netherlands Acquires Majority Stake in Pay VOD Platform

August 7, 2013

HILVERSUM: RTL Netherlands has purchased a majority stake in Videoland, a Dutch SVOD platform owned by The Entertainment Group. RTL Netherlands moves to the forefront of the Dutch VOD landscape with its 65-percent share in Videoland. The platform will continue to operate independently in the VOD market. Netflix previously announced its …

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British Pubcasters Cut Program Spending

August 9, 2013

LONDON: Public service broadcasters (PSBs) in the U.K. have reduced their annual spending on first-run original programming by £384 million ($595 million) in the last five years, according to new figures from Ofcom. The media regulator’s annual review shows that in 2012, the total spend by PSBs in the U.K. was …

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German Court Blocks Unitymedia-KabelBW Merger

August 14, 2013

DUSSELDORF: A German court has reversed an approval by the country’s cartel office for Liberty Global’s acquisition of KabelBW. The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court has overturned the antitrust clearance, siding with Deutsche Telekom, which challenged the deal’s approval. The regulator must now review the merger again and assume a new …

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Virgin Media & BT Sign Three-Year Sports Wholesale Deal

August 15, 2013

LONDON: BT Group has signed a three-year agreement to provide Virgin Media TV customers with full access to the suite of BT Sport channels starting this weekend. The landmark deal delivers BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN to customers. BT Sport will be available at no extra cost for Virgin XL …

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MTG Extends Exclusive Premier League Rights in the Baltics

August 19, 2013

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has prolonged its exclusive broadcasting rights for England’s Barclays Premier League in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania until the end of the 2015-16 season. The rights, which span all platforms, include exclusive coverage of all 38 rounds of the Barclays Premier League. Around 100 matches will …

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Dawn Airey Joins Yahoo!

August 20, 2013

LONDON: Yahoo! has named Dawn Airey, a 30-year veteran of the TV business who formerly served as CEO of Channel 5, as the senior VP of the company’s new EMEA operation. Airey will be report to Henrique de Castro, the COO. Starting November 1, Christophe Parcot, who was Yahoo!’s interim lead for …

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Adrian Sarbu Departs CME

August 21, 2013

HAMILTON: Adrian Sarbu is resigning as the president and CEO of Central European Media Enterprises (CME), after having been with the company for nearly two decades. Sarbu was CME’s partner when the company launched Pro TV in Romania in 1995. He went on to serve as COO of the company …

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RTL Group Profit Up

August 22, 2013

LUXEMBOURG: RTL Group saw its net profit increase 52.6 percent to 418 million euros ($558 million), though revenue was down amid a weak TV ad market. Revenue dipped 1.3 percent to 2.78 billion euros ($3.71 million). The TV advertising market continued to pose a challenge in the first half of 2013. …

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TLC to Launch OWN Block Across CEE

August 22, 2013

WARSAW: TLC is dedicating a block of its schedule to programming from OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network on its channels in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and the Balkans. TLC shows such as Cake Boss, Long Island Medium and Hear Comes Honey Boo Boo will air alongside a hand-picked selection of …