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BURBANK: Craig Cegielski has joined FremantleMedia North America in the newly created position of executive VP of scripted programming and development, while Stefanie Berk has been hired in the senior VP post within the same group. Cegielski comes to FremantleMedia North America, where his appointment is effective immediately, from Open Circle …

LOS ANGELES: Nick Grad, Eric Schrier and Chuck Saftler have each been elevated to the position of president for their respective divisions. Grad and Schrier now hold the titles of president of original programming for FX Networks and FX Productions. This has them both taking on oversight for all original programming for …

BEVERLY HILLS: The Critics’ Choice Television Awards last night recognized The Big Bang Theory as the best comedy series, while Breaking Bad notched up a number of wins on the drama side. While The Big Bang Theory won for best comedy series, performance nods went to Louie‘s Louis C.K. and …

NEW YORK: According to a new study, consumers’ interaction with social media related to TV viewing is relatively modest, however, there is potential for growth. The study, entitled Talking Social TV—spearheaded by the Social Media Committee of the Council for Research Excellence (CRE)—finds that only 12 percent of respondents use social …

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, D.C.: At the NCTA Cable Show, premium network EPIX unveiled new research showing that customers who can access content on multiple platforms attach more value to their pay-TV subscription than those watching solely through a television set. EPIX commissioned Hub Entertainment Research to conduct the study, which surveyed 1,936 …

NEEDHAM/LA CROSSE: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (EBHE) co-president Nathan Hart has been elevated to the post of president. In his new position, Hart will supervise all financial, sales, operations and acquisitions decisions, while also helping to support the company’s growth. He was first hired by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment as …

WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Geographic Channel has revealed that newcomer Will Rothhaar is to star as presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Killing Kennedy, a two-hour factual drama from Scott Free Productions. Supporting cast members will include Mary Pat Gleason (1600 Penn) as Oswald’s mother, Marguerite; Francis Guinan (Boss) as VP Lyndon Baines …

WASHINGTON, D.C.: ION Media Networks has acquired around 165 hours of programming to air across its ION Life and Qubo channels. ION Life has added to its fall lineup At the Table With, a biography series; Room to Grow, about a landscape designer who redesigns outdoor spaces; and Bulging Brides, a show that …

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES: The Paley Center for Media has upped Diane Lewis to executive VP of programming and has brought in Maureen Reidy and Maxim Thorne as chief marketing officer and executive VP of development, respectively. Over the past two and a half decades, Lewis has held a number of …

WASHINGTON, D.C./PHILADELPHIA: Increased personalization, web content and social-media integration all feature prominently in X2, Comcast’s enhanced cloud-enabled operating system for set-top boxes that will roll out to the company’s pay-TV customers later this year. The new system, unveiled at The Cable Show in Washington D.C., is an upgrade of the X1 cloud-based …