News


NBC lands on Bear Grylls’ Island

US broadcaster NBC has ordered a local version of Bear Grylls-fronted Channel 4 adventurer series The Island. NBC will run a six-episode social experiment series in which 14 men will attempt to live on an unmanned island. The show is based on Shine TV format The Island, which first went out on Channel 4 in […]

Wuaki poaches iTunes exec for OTT

OTT video-on-demand provider Wuaki.tv has hired former Apple iTunes executive Sébastien Janin to head international business development. Janin has worked for iTunes, where he was responsible for launching and managing the roll out of the iTunes film service in Europe and Latin America, for the last eight years. For the last two years he has […]

Vice launching daily news and OTT channel with HBO

Youth content brand Vice is launching a daily news service on HBO in the US and a branded channel on the premium cabler’s upcoming OTT service HBO Now. The half-hour Vice daily newscast will be stripped through the week on HBO as part of a renewed, wider programming deal between and Time Warner’s HBO and […]

Sky Vision secures TV3 output deal

UK-based distributor Sky Vision has scooped rival DRG and secured an exclusive programme representation deal with Ireland’s TV3. This will see Sky’s distribution arm represent an initial 200 hours of TV3 shows, with another 150 hours of new programming to come between now and 2017. DRG was the previous distributor, but the Sky deal comes […]

Lifestyle sales for Peace Point

Canada-based distributor Peace Point Rights has shopped 120 hours of lifestyle and factual fare to broadcasters around the world. Discovery has acquired food wagon competition series Food Truck Face off (via Italy-based distributor Beep Omnimedia) for Italy, Switzerland and Monaco. In Australia, Foxtel has picked up 40x30mins Bake with Anna Olson (pictured) while Scripps has taken […]

UK networks retrans battle goes to Euro court

The battle between three UK broadcasters and streaming site TVCatchup is headed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This comes after the UK Court of Appeal referred the case, which hinges on the legality of TVCatchup’s business model, to the court after again questioning whether websites should provide real-time channel streaming. […]

ITV Studios poaches Shine exec for digital

The content and distribution arm of UK broadcaster ITV has hired David Christopher as director of international commercial and digital. He joins from Endemol Shine, and takes on a newly-created role at ITV Studios. He will sit within the formats team and report to Mike Beale, executive VP of global development and formats. Christopher will […]

Spike gets Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy for UK launch

Viacom will launch Spike in the UK on April 15 and has picked up several US dramas for the free-to-air channel including the latest season of The Walking Dead (left) as well as Sons of Anarchy and Justified. It has also snagged UK rights to Lip Sync Battle (below), the upcoming comedy gameshow that will debut on […]

Zodiak’s Alessandri resurfaces with French indie

Former Télé Images Productions president Philippe Alessandri has returned to the fold by launching an animation and drama-focused indie producer in Paris. WatchNext Media will look to create shows with “engaging brands and aspirational stories” for the international market. It will also focus on properties that can work as television series, apps and licensing products. […]

TV4 names first on-demand channel chief

Swedish free and pay TV commercial broadcaster TV4 Group has named Anton Glanzelius as the new channel manager for on-demand service TV4 Play. Glanzelius has worked alongside TV4 channel director Mathias Berg on developing an ad-funded digital video offering for TV4 since last autumn. His new post is a new role. TV4 said requests on […]