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MUNICH: Irina Ignatiew has become the deputy managing director of global scripted distribution for Red Arrow International, while Henrik Pabst has been named deputy managing director for global format and factual distribution. Ignatiew has been promoted at the company from her previous role as the senior VP of sales for …

NEW YORK: In this video interview, Jeremy Fox, the founder and CEO of DRG, speaks with TV Europe about the advantages of the MTG Studios acquisition, while emphasizing that the company is still a "small distributor looking after independent producers."   DRG was built on three pillars: factual, fiction and …

LONDON: NBCUniversal has decided to shut down The Style Network in the U.K., where it has been operating since 2008. The channel will end transmissions as of December 9. The focus in the U.K. will be on the existing Universal Channel, E!, Syfy and Movies 24 brands. In the U.S., …

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland has purchased Constantin Sport's production company Plazamedia, along with acquiring a minority stake in Sport1 and Constantin Sport Marketing. The purchase price for the transactions is around 57.5 million euros ($78.6 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. The acquisition of Plazamedia significantly enhances Sky's production capacities, …

UNTERFÖHRING: Seasoned television execs Taco Ketelaar and Kaspar Pflueger are on board to join the Sat.1 programming team in early 2014. Ketelaar will become the senior VP of prime-time entertainment on February 1. In that position, he will oversee all of Sat.1's prime-time entertainment and reality formats. Ketelaar most recently …

NEW YORK/ROME: A+E Networks has set up a Rome-based company to launch and operate branded channels and services in Italy: A+E Networks Italy. A+E Networks will launch Crime & Investigation on Sky Italia on December 16. It is working with FOX International Channels to assume full ownership of HISTORY Italy …

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland has secured the extension of broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in Germany through 2018, and will show 146 matches live per season, 128 of them exclusively. Sky Deutschland now has the rights for the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Sky secured the live broadcast and …

LONDON: The BBC is planning to launch five new subscription-free HD channels tomorrow, with BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, CBeebies HD and CBBC HD. The new HD channels will be available on Freeview HD, Freesat HD, YouView, Sky HD and Virgin Media. Viewers can also get …

MUNICH: Britta Meyermann, who previously led acquisitions at Global Screen, has been hired as the head of international co-production for Odeon Film. In her new role, Meyermann is responsible for building Odeon Film's international arm, which will concentrate on the development and co-production of television programming and feature films for …

LONDON: Zodiak Rights and Loft London have commenced exclusive negotiations regarding Zodiak Rights' post-production facility. If an agreement is reached, Loft London will take control of Zodiak Rights' London-based in-house post-production business as part of a five-year post-production, content management and content distribution contract. This transition would involve Zodiak Rights' …