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LOS ANGELES/ROME: SDI Media has opened its new custom-designed dubbing studios in Rome, where the company has turned the historic Il Messaggero newspaper building into a state-of-the-art studio for broadcast, theatrical, home entertainment and interactive products. The fully-equipped 2,700-square-meter facility will provide local broadcasters, content owners and leading Hollywood studios …

LOS ANGELES: BoPaul Media Worldwide has inked three new deals for its vintage movies with companies in Germany and the U.K. In Germany, Morefilms picked up the pay-TV rights for Seven as well as the the teen comedy trilogy comprised of Porky's, Porky's: The Next Day and Porky's Revenge. Subkultur Entertainment …

DENVER/LONDON: Liberty Global has picked up a 6.4-percent stake in the U.K.'s leading commercial broadcasting group, ITV, for £481 million ($822 million). The company today announced the acquisition of 259.8 million shares in the group. Mike Fries, Liberty Global's CEO, said of the deal: “This is an opportunistic and attractive …

LONDON: International revenues for British independent production companies were up 12 percent in 2013 to £939 million ($1.6 billion), according to new figures released by Pact. According to trade body, the U.K.'s independent TV production sector is worth more than £3 billion ($5.1 billion) to the British economy. International earnings …

ROME: Italian production company Wildside has launched two new divisions as it looks to expand its international presence, with one focusing on drama series and the other targeting film releases. Wildside Series is currently working on drama series like Tomorrow Is A Big Day with Mediaset and The Young Pope, …

LONDON: TCB Media Rights has brought in Anna Budashevskaya, a former TVF International exec, to help strengthen producer relationships. Budashevskaya will join TCB as the sales and acquisitions manager for the Nordic, Benelux and Central and Eastern European territories in August, as maternity cover for Karen Connell. She will also …

LONDON: The performance of the BBC's four main TV channels remains strong, according to a review of the services by BBC Trust, but key challenges remain, including reaching younger and minority audiences, and the need for more "creative risks" to be taken in BBC One's programming. The review of BBC …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide's 2013-14 Annual Review shows a 6.6-percent drop in revenues from the previous year to £1.04 billion ($1.8 billion), but the commercial division did up its returns to the BBC by 11.4 percent to £173.8 million ($296.6 million). Investment in BBC-commissioned content was also up, by 19.5 percent …

LONDON: British comedy personalities Miranda Hart and David Walliams are teaming with producer Jo Sargent to form a new company, King Bert Productions. The new venture aims to develop new mainstream comedy and comedy entertainment content for broadcasters, whilst also looking to foster new talent. BBC Worldwide is providing development …

LONDON: AMC Networks International—Zone has reached a deal that brings CBS Action, CBS Drama, CBS Reality +1 and Horror Channel to TalkTalk TV in the U.K. The CBS portfolio of channels is already available in the U.K. via Sky, Virgin and Freesat. Beginning today they are available to TalkTalk's IPTV …