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STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has entered into an agreement to purchase 74 percent of Turtle Entertainment, which operates under the ESL brand, for 78 million euros ($86.6 million) in cash. ESL’s online leagues and tournaments, including ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters, are among the biggest in the world, …

LONDON: African Movie Channel is set to be distributed on the new Lebara Play OTT service within Europe. The deal will give European subscribers unlimited access to countless hours of African cinema content, available 24 hours a day. Lebara Play can be viewed via PC, mobile app, tablet or set-top …

LUXEMBOURG: RTL Group has appointed Gabriella Vidus as the new CEO of RTL Hungary, while Péter Kolosi has been elevated to the post of deputy CEO. Vidus has been serving as general manager of RTL Hungary's advertising sales house R-time. She takes on the CEO post at RTL Hungary with …

LONDON: Director-General Tony Hall has announced a set of changes to the structure and organization of the BBC that will result in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, as it tries to compensate for its £150 million ($234.3 million) license-fee deficit. Hall said that the new measures being proposed …

LONDON: OTT TV and video revenues in Western Europe are set to increase by $9 billion between 2014 and 2020, with the U.K. as the largest contributor. According to a new report from Digital TV Research, the revenue total in Western Europe will reach $13.72 billion in 2020, up from …

LONDON: In its third review of public service TV broadcasting (PSB), Ofcom has raised concerns regarding the decreased spending on first-run U.K. children's programs and dramas. The review examines how the BBC, ITV, STV, UTV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C have fulfilled the purposes of public service broadcasting. Ofcom …

MUNICH: The supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media has extended the contract of CEO Thomas Ebeling, who has held the post since March 2009. Dr. Werner Brandt, the chairman of the ProSiebenSat.1 supervisory board, said: "Since taking office in 2009, Thomas Ebeling has decisively shaped the group's strategy and, with his …

KNOXVILLE: Scripps Networks Interactive has officially closed its agreement to acquire a 52.7 percent interest in Poland’s TVN from ITI and CANAL+ Group. It closed an all-cash deal for 584 million euros ($617 million). Scripps Networks Interactive will also assume 856 million euros ($888 million) of debt. Under Polish law, …

NEW YORK: SPI International and Vodafone Portugal have unveiled the launch of the FunBox 4K UHD channel on TV Net Voz, a leading Portuguese IPTV platform. Vodaphone Portugal has already begun offering some FunBox 4K content to its subscribers. Additional programming will become available in the coming months and will …

AMSTERDAM/LONDON: Endemol Shine Group has tapped Marina Williams, formerly CEO of Central and Eastern Europe and MENA regions, to serve as COO of international operations. The new post sees Williams with oversight for Endemol Shine Group’s operations across Central and Eastern Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa. She will …