Top Stories

MOSCOW: Anton Kudryashov, the CEO of Russia’s CTC Media, has stepped down, with the company’s chief financial officer, Boris Podolsky, taking over on an interim basis until a permanent replacement has been appointed. Kudryashov has exited by "mutual agreement," said a statement from CTC Media. He had been CEO since 2008. ...

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HELSINKI: Finnish parliamentary group leaders have decided to replace the 80-year-old license-fee system of funding for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) with a new tax model. Starting in 2013, YLE will be funded by a fee that is collected by the Finnish tax authorities. The money will also be allocated ...

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LONDON: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks has inked a carriage deal with Virgin Media for Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which is now available in 13.8 million U.K. households. In addition to Virgin Media, the female-skewed, entertainment channel, already reaches Sky’s 10 million basic pay-TV subscribers. The channel will feature series ...

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PREMIUM: Gary Davey, the executive VP of programming at pay-TV platform Sky Deutschland, tells World Screen about his approach to acquisitions, nonlinear deals and windowing. WS: Can you tell us about your recent output deal with Tele München? DAVEY: One of the unique things about Germany is the influence of ...

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COLOGNE: Sony Pictures Television Sales Deutschland and the ProSiebenSat.1 Group have signed a VOD output deal that brings a host of new film and TV offerings to the maxdome service. Titles covered under the new deal include The Smurfs, Bad Teacher and Zookeeper. On the TV side, series such as Breaking Bad, ...

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MADRID: After two years of talks, the Spanish broadcasters Antena 3 and La Sexta have agreed to a merger deal, pending regulatory approval. The deal sees the smaller La Sexta absorbed into the Antena 3 Group. Shareholders of La Sexta will receive 7 percent of the newly formed group, with ...

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PARIS: Reed MIDEM has organized a two-day networking and live learning experience, MIPCube, which will focus on the game-changing innovations affecting the TV industry, to take place ahead of the 2012 edition of MIPTV. MIPCube will open in Cannes on March 30, with MIPTV following on April 1. Cindy Gallop, the former ...

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LONDON: Modern Times Group (MTG) exec Camilla Hammer has been appointed as the CEO of Shine Group’s sales and distribution division, Shine International. Hammer will be based in London, following Shine’s recent relocation from Los Angeles. She will lead an international team of 42, responsible for the exploitation of worldwide ...

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LONDON: Lucky Day Productions, a Zodiak Media Group company, has secured a number of new commissions, with production under way on four series expected in 2012 for BBC and Channel 4. Secret Location, a 20-episode hour-long series, was commissioned by Channel 4 for daytime. The new property format takes house ...

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LONDON: The U.K. regulator Ofcom has identified 20 sites for local TV stations should the proposed legislation get passed by Parliament. Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea are the locations Ofcom will advertise ...

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