News


UKTV says content investment driving results

UKTV has reported strong annual results, notching profit and revenue increases. The BBC Worldwide and Scripps-owned channel operator said its investment in content drove the positive numbers, with it also taking its highest ever share of the overall commercial TV audience, which came in at 9.1% across the bouquet of channels in 2014, compared with […]

Lagardère makes African move with DIFFA deal

France-based Lagardère has taken majority control of Africa-focused TV and film distributor DIFFA (International Distribution of Films and Fiction from Africa). The deal sees Lagardère formalise a partnership with DIFFA first announced earlier this year. The African business was formed three years ago by Alain Modot from the Media Consulting Group and Jean-Hubert Nankam from […]

Apple to make ‘dramatic’ TV push, says investor Icahn

Billionaire investor and Apple shareholder, Carl Icahn, said he expects the firm to make a “more dramatic push” into the TV market next year. In an open letter, addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Icahn said he believes TV’s role in the living room is a “strategically compelling bolt-on to the Apple ecosystem” and predicted […]

LA Screenings: RTE searches for CSI replacement

Irish pubcaster RTÉ is at the LA Screenings searching for three dramas to replace CSI, The Mentalist and Revenge. The broadcaster also needs a new sitcom to sit alongside The Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls, but has made fresh dramas the priority. This comes as Jerry Bruckheimer’s CBS procedural CSI comes to a […]

David Lynch back on board Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks director David Lynch has rejoined Showtime’s 2015-16 season remake of the classic mystery drama. Fans of the original were left disappointed in April after Lynch decided to walk away from the show after a prolonged period of contract negotiations with CBS-owned Showtime. The director specifically stated the network was not putting up enough […]

Vodafone’s TV customer base tops 9 million

Vodafone closed the quarter ending March 31 with 9.1 million TV customers and 11.3 million broadband customers in Europe as it moves forward with plans to become a “full service, integrated operator”. Announcing its fiscal fourth quarter and fully year results, the mobile operator said that 25% of its service revenue in Europe now comes […]

UK indie poaches C5 commissioner for reality push

UK-based drama producer Red Planet Pictures has recruited Channel 5 commissioner Simon Raikes to spearhead a push into unscripted. Red Planet was set up by veteran writer Tony Jordan in 2005 and its drama credits include BBC series Death in Paradise and The Ark. Raikes will be work up a slate of factual and fact-ent […]

Disney’s Maker Studios appoints intn’l content chief

Online content and channels specialist Maker Studios has recruited writer and director Luke Hyams to head up international content. Hyams production credits include Channel 4 and E4 youth-skewed series Dubplate Drama and Glue. He has also made feature film X Moor and YouTube commissioned digital series Bitchcraft. At Disney-owned Maker, Hyams will develop new formats […]

Hat Trick’s Cohen named Pact vice chair

Hat Trick Productions’ Paul Cohen has been appointed vice chair of UK indie producers body Pact. Cohen is group commercial director at UK indie Hat Trick and takes on the new role at Pact after Laura Mansfield moved from vice chair to chair, in the wake of Sara Geater stepping down. Cohen has been a […]

EU won’t enforce pan-Euro rights deals

The European Commission does not want to enforce pan-European content licensing as part of its Digital Single Market proposals. The the audiovisual industry could benefit from certain exemptions to restrictions on geo-blocking to enable it to continue to license on a territory-by-territory basis, according to Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for the digital economy and society. Speaking at […]