Top Stories

LONDON: TRACE Group, a brand and multimedia company focusing on music and sports celebrities, has inked deals that will see its offerings expand into Southeastern Europe and Africa. A carriage deal with telecommunications outfit United Group will see TRACE Sport Stars, a channel dedicated to sports celebrities, made available to …

LONDON: CBS Action is increasing its reach with a launch on the U.K.'s largest free-to-air digital TV provider, Freeview. Starting October 1, the channel, which is owned by CBS Studios International and AMC Networks International—Zone, will be available on Freeview in the U.K. This adds to its current reach in …

SÃO PAULO: A deal with OTT carriers Cloudio TV and GLWiZ will allow Brazil’s Globo to launch its international, Portuguese-language channel in Europe. The partnership with Cloudio TV will see Globo’s content available on multiple devices and a set-top box, along with Roku, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba and LG connected-TV features. …

LONDON: Sky has tied up with Znak&Jones Productions, a newly formed production company set up by Natalka Znak (I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, Hell’s Kitchen) and Simon Jones (American Idol). Sky made an equity investment in Znak&Jones and also entered into a distribution partnership with the outfit. All …

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has struck a deal to distribute Maker Studios' content on its ad-funded online video services across Scandinavia, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. Maker Studios targets the Millennial demo with a range of online video content. Its network of 55,000 channel partners …

PARIS/STOCKHOLM: STUDIOCANAL and Svensk Filmindustri (SF) have entered into an alliance that spans distribution and co-production opportunities. SF landed an output distribution deal for all new STUDIOCANAL films on the Nordic market—Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland—and digital distribution of STUDIOCANAL catalogue titles. The agreement also covers co-productions based on English-language …

LOS ANGELES: In an effort to expand its European presence, MarVista Entertainment has appointed Rod Rodrigo and Andrew Whiteman as directors of distribution for the region. In their new roles, Rodrigo will sell to the U.K., Scandinavia, Benelux, Greece and Turkey, while Whiteman will focus on Germany, CEE, Russia and …

MADRID: Next month in Cannes, Grupo Secuoya's Secuoya Content Distribution (SCD) plans to present a number of titles, including the new competition format Soul Out. Soul Out is based on the universal question, What would you sell your soul for? Participants are offered something they've always wanted in exchange for a …

PARIS: Zodiak France has appointed former FremantleMedia exec Edouard Duprey to the newly created role of chief creative officer. Duprey is responsible for creating original formats and coordinating the activities and developments for Zodiak France across entertainment, factual, documentary and drama genres. He will also contribute to the International Development …

STOCKHOLM: Sweden's TV4 Group has hired Josefine Tengblad to serve in the newly created post of head of drama. Tengblad will have overall responsibility for the film and drama production of the group. Tengblad will also develop commissioning alongside TV4 Group's digital transformation. Previously, Tengblad was working as executive producer …