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ISTANBUL: Andrew Sime, Global Agency's head of acquisitions, is leaving the company at the end of the month, with Umay Ayaz taking over the responsibilities. Sime has been with Global Agency since 2009. Ayaz will now be handling Global Agency's international acquisitions as acquisitions manager. Sime said: “When I joined …

MADRID: Telefónica has unveiled the production entity Telefónica Studios, which plans to produce 25 films and TV series over the next three years. Telefónica Studios' projects will be aimed at the Euopean and Latin American markets as well as English-speaking markets. The initial output will be between ten to twelve …

CANNES: Led by a team of supermodels, The Face, a top offering from Shine International, aims to appoint the new “face” of a popular cosmetics brand. The format, which originated in the U.S., is executive produced by Naomi Campbell and made by Princess Productions and Shine TV. Following on the …

CANNES: There are nine different TV5MONDE channels offered worldwide, among them TV5MONDE FBS (for France, Belgium, Switzerland) and TV5MONDE Europe (for the rest of Europe). There’s also TiVi5MONDE, a U.S. channel dedicated to kids. “TV5MONDE is the only general-entertainment French-language channel for cable, satellite and IPTV, and is available 24/7 …

MUNICH: Red Arrow International's drama lineup for MIPCOM includes titles featuring Dustin Hoffman, Judi Dench and David Tennant, among others, while Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson of The Taste headline its unscripted offerings. On the drama side, there's a second season of mobster series Lilyhammer featuring Steven Van Zandt; the …

LONDON: In the run-up to MIPCOM, all3media international has taken on the rights to several shows from independent producers in Australia, a market in which it has invested almost A$3 million ($2.8 million) over the last three years. On the heels of the success of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, all3media …

LOS ANGELES:  Basic Lead is offering a new incentive for programming and acquisition executives to attend DISCOP Istanbul, with a complimentary three-night hotel package if they register by November 8. Qualified content buyers representing TV stations, pay-TV operators, online and mobile distribution platforms are eligible for the new initiative for …

LONDON: For the very first time, web-based broadcasters are eligible to enter the British Academy Television Awards and the British Academy Television Craft Awards. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) makes online shows eligible for consideration for both awards categories. This is one of several important updates …

PARIS: H20 Productions, part of the Banijay Group, has appointed Philippe Stoltz, most recently the head of reality and docu-reality and executive producer at Endemol France, as its new managing director. Stoltz will join H20 this month. At Endemol France since 2008, Stoltz has spearheaded production on such shows as …

LONDON/MOSCOW: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has launched its newest fully owned and operated service in Russia with the re-launch of the youth entertainment channel MTV. MTV has secured distribution for Rostelecom, NTV Plus and Megafon. The channel will be available via basic tier packages to more than 2.3 million …