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LONDON: ITV has issued an aggressive response to the government review of the BBC Charter, taking aim at the alleged lack of "distinctiveness" and dependence on "derivative" content. In a submission to the Culture Select Committee’s inquiry into the government’s ongoing review of the BBC Charter, ITV said that the …

WARSAW: UPC Broadband Slovakia has extended its FilmBox Premium HD package with the addition of three new thematic HD channels from the SPI International/FilmBox portfolio. On October 27, the FilmBox Premium HD pack began featuring Fast’nFunBox HD, DocuBox HD and EroXXX HD, in addition to the current channel lineup, which is comprised …

MUNICH: ProSiebenSat.1 and Disney Germany, Switzerland and Austria have signed a long-term master license agreement, which includes movies and series from Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel and ABC Studios. The broadcasting rights are for ProSiebenSat.1 free-TV channels in Germany. The deal also includes, for the first time, exclusive rights for ProSiebenSat.1's …

JOHANNESBURG: The challenging romance between an aspiring screenwriter and a famous actor takes center stage in Relationship Status: It’s Complicated, one of the titles from Calinos Entertainment’s catalogue. The company is also offering up Emergency Love, which follows the relationship between a doctor’s assistant and her mentor. “They are not …

MOSCOW: A new sports channel is going live in Russia on November 1, called Match TV. Match TV will have live TV broadcast rights for the majority of first-tier sports events and matches worldwide. This includes Russian soccer and basketball matches, as well as Formula One races, American football, rugby, …

BUDAPEST: Linda Jensen, the CEO of HBO Europe, is exiting the company at the end of the year, with the post to be taken over by Hervé Payan. Payan is currently the CEO of HBO Nordic. As of January 1, 2015, Payan will become the CEO of HBO Europe, consolidating HBO Nordic, …

LONDON: Liberty Global and A+E Networks have extended their distribution deal and are launching two new HD simulcast channels in the U.K. The long-term pan-European carriage pact covers A+E Networks' U.K. channels on Liberty Global platforms in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and …

LONDON: Gaumont Television has hired Nicola Andrews as the company's VP of distribution, a newly created position. Andrews will work out of London under Erik Pack, the president of international distribution at Gaumont Television. She is charged with selling the company's lineup of kids' programming—including the animated titles Calimero, Belle …

NEW YORK: SPI International/FilmBox have signed an agreement with Disney that will see first-run movie content air on FilmBox channels in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Among the titles snapped up by SPI from Disney are the hit animated movies Planes 2 and Big Hero 6. The package also includes …

ROME: Fabrizio Salini is set to step down from his role as managing director of FOX International Channels (FIC) Italy at the end of next month, with industry veteran Kathryn Fink tapped to replace him. Salini, who’d worked with FIC Italy since 2003, is leaving the company to pursue a …