World Screen

BURBANK: ABC Family has added to its executive ranks with three appointments and one promotion. On August 24, Simran S. Sethi will join ABC Family as the senior VP of original programming and development. In her new role, Sethi will manage the scripted series development team and oversee the department’s daily …

LOS ANGELES: FX has ordered a third season of the thriller The Strain, as well as season one of Louis C.K.’s comedy Better Things. Season three of The Strain, from Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse, will premiere next summer. The series is based on the best-selling trilogy by del …

BEVERLY HILLS: The Television Critics Association's (TCA) annual awards saw Empire beating out The Americans, Game of Thrones, Mad Men and Transparent for the honor of program of the year. The Americans did win for outstanding achievement in drama, while Inside Amy Schumer won that award in the comedy category. …

LONDON: The top ten pay-TV services in the U.S. shed more than 400,000 digital television subscribers between them in the second quarter, with the decline in subs now offsetting a small gain earlier in the year. According to the informitv Multiscreen Index, nine out of the top ten services in …

STAMFORD: An extended six-year contract sees NBC Sports Group continue as the exclusive multiplatform media home of the Premier League in the U.S. through the 2021-22 season. NBC Sports Group will continue to make all 380 Premier League matches available to fans via NBCUniversal’s NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, Telemundo and …

LOS ANGELES: Greg Lipstone, a founding partner and board member at ICM Partners, has been hired as CEO of All3Media America. Lipstone is tasked with oversight for all day-to-day operations at All3Media America, including the 11 companies under its corporate umbrella. Lipstone has represented All3Media America, along with several of its …

NEW YORK: Bravo Media has ordered a second season of the comedy series Odd Mom Out, created by author Jill Kargman. Kargman also stars in the scripted half-hour series as a satirical version of herself, trying to find her place in the elite and incredibly wealthy “mommy clique” of New …

LOS ANGELES: Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids is being developed as a limited series for Showtime, which has also ordered a new one-hour pilot from executive producer Jim Carrey entitled I'm Dying Up Here. The memoir is about Smith's life with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. A limited series is being co-written …

MONTEREY: U.S. multichannel subscriptions saw their largest loss to date in the second quarter, according to the research firm SNL Kagan, as fears regarding the impact of cord cutting rise. The U.S. cable, DBS and telco platforms collectively lost more than 600,000 video subscribers in the three months ended June …

LOS ANGELES: Spike TV has appointed Lauren Ruggiero as the senior director of scripted development, reporting directly to Ted Gold, the senior VP of scripted original series. Ruggiero’s new responsibilities in this role will include expanding the company’s development slate and co-managing show production. She joins Spike TV from Elice …