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HOLLYWOOD: Banijay Entertainment-owned studio Stephen David Entertainment (SDE) has appointed veteran cable executive Dirk Hoogstra as chief creative officer. In his new role, Hoogstra will be charged with the development, packaging, sales and shepherding of new and current projects within the premium content space. Hoogstra will also be responsible for securing international financing …

TORONTO: The first season of Sensitive Skin, distributed internationally by Tricon Films & Television, has premiered exclusively in the U.S. on iTunes. The series is available in the U.S. exclusively on iTunes by episode or by season, with a free episode having launched on November 13. The show stars Kim …

LOS ANGELES: WGN America has set a January 2016 debut for the upcoming drama series Outsiders. The series explores the epic battle between the Farrell Clan, a tight-knit family of renegades who have lived atop Shay Mountain for more than 200 years, and members of the town below who dare …

SILVER SPRING: North American streaming service Acorn TV has picked up five new titles, all set to premiere next month. The second season of New Zealand’s The Brokenwood Mysteries and the first season of the tech show Gadget Man are due out December 7. The three-part miniseries The Trials of …

NEW YORK: The portfolio of rights held by the shuttered Universal Sports Network has been sold to NBCUniversal by World Championship Sports Network. Universal Sports Network, in operation for almost a decade, was majority owned by InterMedia Partners, with NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. The signal for the network ceased …

CHICAGO/PHOENIX: U.S. alternative-TV provider Channel Master has added Vibrant TV to its streaming platform. Vibrant TV’s 24/7 schedule features programming categories that encompass lifestyle, sports, comedy, action adventure, drama, reality, travel, food and family. It specializes in providing entertainment from around the world in English. “We are excited to bring …

NEW YORK: Univision Communications, Inc. (UCI) has promoted Isaac Lee to chief news and digital officer, a newly created position. Lee will be adding duties for multicultural and music, while maintaining oversight of the news and digital divisions. He is charged with supervising all digital functions across the company, building …

SAN JOSE: Tom Rogers is exiting his CEO post at TiVo after nearly 11 years, though he will continue as a non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Rogers will leave the role officially on January 31, 2016. The board of directors has formed a search committee to identify a …

SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and Lionsgate have each made an equity investment in the ad-supported VOD service Tubi TV, along with providing access to hundreds of titles from their libraries. The agreement spans hundreds of titles from the MGM and Lionsgate libraries, including Academy Award-winning films such as …

SANTA MONICA: GSN has given the go-ahead to 40 episodes of Winsanity, a new original game show that will be presented by actor and comedian Donald Faison (Scrubs). Each half-hour episode of Winsanity will see a contestant attempt to rank ten surprising facts in numerical order from lowest to highest. …