Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has continued its withdrawal from the global channels business by selling its 22 pay-TV networks and two streaming services in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to Antenna Group. The deal includes the CEE-focused AXN and Sony channels, as well as Sony-owned Viasat 3 and 6 networks, plus the media giant’s on-demand […]
Baby Cow appoints Objective’s Maisah Thompson Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions has bolstered its scripted comedy team with the appointment of Maisah Thompson from Objective Fiction. Thompson becomes development producer at Baby Cow, with a remit to expand the company’s scripted comedy slate, its development of new comedy ideas, and its network of diverse talent. […]
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has finalised a kids content partnership with NBCUniversal International Distribution for its Viaplay streaming service and Viasat pay-TV channels. Titles coming to Viaplay and Viasat as a result of the deal include upcoming DreamWorks Animation series Where’s Waldo?, Cleopatra In Space and Dragons: Defenders of Berk, as well as NBCUniversal […]
Hat Trick International (HTI) has hired former Gaumont exec Hana Zidek as its first acquisitions executive for third party titles. Zidek has been at HTI for 13 months on maternity cover for Sarah Bickley, who is now back in her role as senior sales executive. In this role, Zidek sold scripted series and formats, in […]
Google exec Karin Bonde has left the tech giant to become VP of Discovery Networks Nordics’ digital entertainment business. The new role will see Bonde leading operations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, working on growing the unit through new business models and digital content types. She begins her new role next Tuesday (August 22), based […]
UK battling robots series Robot Wars has been acquired by a raft of international broadcasters. The sales come as UK pubcaster the BBC orders a second season of the rebooted series after a successful summer run on BBC Two. Internationally, Viasat World has bought the finished first series for its Explore Channel in the central […]
Bonnier Broadcasting-owned Finnish commercial broadcaster MTV’s CEO Jarkko Nordlund has named a new management team, with Discovery’s Sami Vikback taking charge of the group’s advertising business and Viasat’s Johannes Leppännen becoming head of pay TV. Nordlund (pictured) has hired Vikback from Discovery Networks Sweden, where had the role of chief revenueofficer, to take charge of […]
The programme of cost cutting at Modern Times Group has helped boost its half-year profits, the company said this morning. The pan-European free and pay TV company added that it has tweaked the price of its pay offerings and added more content, and the performance of its traditional businesses are allowing it to sink more […]
A group of 15 media giants dominate pay TV within the European Union, accounting for almost 70% of the bloc’s pay TV homes, according to new research. The European Audiovisual Observatory reports that ownership is becoming more consolidated among this group as national players make expand beyond their domestic bases. Deutsche Telekom, Liberty Global, Orange, […]
Modern Times Group’s Jeppe Damgaard as been appointed as Turner Broadcasting System Nordic’s director of distribution. Damgaard will negotiate deals for the Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TCM, CNN International and TNT channels with pay TV providers in the region. He joins from broadcaster MTG, having spent nearly a decade within the wider Viasat business. “We are […]
