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HILVERSUM: Talpa Media is purchasing the remaining 50.1 percent stake in Talpa Germany from Axel Springer, giving it full control of the German production outfit. Talpa acquired 49.9 percent of Talpa Germany, previously named Schwartzkopff TV, in December 2014. Mutual options for a total sale were granted in the course …

LONDON: Lucas Church is leaving his role as chairman of Endemol Shine UK this fall. Church had been appointed to his current post when Endemol's U.K. business was combined with Shine Group's in January. He first joined the company as head of business affairs at the U.K. label Initial in …

NEW YORK: SPI International has announced that the FilmBox HD channel is being offered on blizoo, a leading cable TV operator in Bulgaria. FilmBox HD provides a selection of movie genres, including drama, comedy, thriller and horror, as well as television series. The network has launched on blizoo as part …

LONDON: Dan Korn, who most recently was serving as head of special projects at Discovery Networks International, has joined STV Productions in the role of creative director, with a particular focus on specialist factual and returnable programming. Korn will be based at STV Productions’ office in London and will take …

LONDON: UKTV’s comedy channel Gold is set to debut sometime this year Legends of Stand-Up & Bernard Righton, a six-part series celebrating the world’s greatest comedians. Performer John Thomson will host the show as his alter ego, club comedian Bernard Righton. Archive footage will be used to highlight routines by …

LAUSANNE: All TV and multiplatform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2018–2024 period have been awarded to Discovery Communications, the parent company of Eurosport, in a deal valued at 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion). Discovery has committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of …

LONDON: A new report from SNL Kagan, which has expanded its coverage to include key markets in Europe, finds that with the slowing U.S. ad market and rising programming costs, major media conglomerates are increasingly eyeing the European pay-TV channels business. The research firm reports that in the U.K., total …

LONDON: The BBC Trust has given its provisional approval to moving BBC Three to an online-only service, but is not backing the launch of a +1 channel for BBC One. The Trust carried out a series of "Public Value Tests" for several proposals to evaluate whether any adverse market impact …

LONDON: David Bouchier, a veteran of the European pay-TV industry, has been tapped as Virgin Media's first chief digital entertainment officer. The newly created role brings together the content, programming and digital entertainment teams, as the cable operator looks to further develop its proposition in the TV and entertainment market. …

PARIS: Vivendi has acquired an 80 percent stake in the online video platform Dailymotion from Orange, for 217 million euros ($243 million). The move gives Vivendi access to a range of music and audiovisual content and allows for the joint development of original content, together with the Universal Music Group …