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UNIVERSAL CITY/LONDON: Jeff Shell, who has been serving as the chairman of NBCUniversal International, has been named chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, while Kevin MacLellan steps into Shell's former role. MacLellan takes over responsibility for day-to-day operations and leads international expansion opportunities. He also now joins the executive committee …

LOS ANGELES: Esquire Network is slated to make its official debut on September 23, now replacing the Style Network instead of G4 as it was previously expected to. NBCUniversal said Monday that the channel will be replacing Style since the company has three other existing cable channels that already cater …

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER: Kevin Beggs has been promoted to chairman of Lionsgate Television Group, as part of his new long-term contract with the company. Beggs will continue to oversee the development and production of all programming for platforms worldwide. He continues to report to Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate's CEO. Beggs has been …

SILVER SPRING: D'Angela Proctor has been appointed as the senior VP of programming and production for TV One, where she is responsible for leading the network's original production team. Proctor will work under Alfred Liggins, the president and CEO of TV One. Her duties will include providing strategic direction of …

TORONTO/LOS ANGELES: Entertainment One (eOne) has secured a slot for the comedy series Seed, a Canadian original for City TV, on The CW in the U.S. Production is starting in the fall. City has ordered 13 episodes, which will be produced by Force Four Entertainment. It is about a single, …

LOS ANGELES: More than 1,000 hours from Liberation Entertainment's catalogue have been sold to Multicom Entertainment Group for global distribution. The deal, which includes OTT, pay-per-view and Internet distribution markets, involves the children's shows Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky and The Invisible Man, as well as the cult horror films House on …

LOS ANGELES: Rive Gauche Television has acquired more than 43 hours of new programming, along with 30 hours of returning series, which it is slated to showcase at this year's MIPCOM. Newly acquired titles include Mountain Movers (Good Clean Fun), The Illegal Eater (Farpoint Films), Who Let the Dogs Out …

LOS ANGELES: Showtime has scored the broadcast rights for the British indie Flying Blind, which it will air on September 26. Flying Blind stars Helen McCrory (Hugo, Skyfall) as Frankie, who embarks on a passionate love affair with with Kahil (played by Najib Oudghiri, Rendition, The Wedding Song), a French-Algerian …

LOS ANGELES: CBS has renewed Big Brother for its 16th season, which will be broadcast next summer. The companion series Big Brother: After Dark is also set to return next summer to the basic cable network TVGN after being renewed for an additional season. Big Brother wraps up its current …

NEW YORK: Cesar Conde, the president of Univision Networks, has left the company to take on the role of executive VP of NBCUniversal. In the newly created post at NBCU, Conde will be focused on business development, strategic priorities and special business projects across the portfolio. He will be reporting …