MADRID/BURBANK, March 10: Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) has signed a deal with laSexta that gives the Spanish broadcaster free-TV rights to a range of first-run theatrical motion pictures and previously released feature films as well as a host of TV titles.

SILVER SPRING, March 10: The newly created role of international head of content for Discovery Communications is to be filled by Luis Silberwasser, who currently serves as senior VP of the content group for Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic and general manager of U.S. Hispanic Networks.

LONDON, March 10: Katie Taylor, currently the executive editor of comedy entertainment at BBC Productions, has been tapped as the company's new head of entertainment and events.

HILVERSUM, March 10: In continuing its global expansion efforts, John de Mol's Talpa Media has set up a co-owned joint venture with Portuguese TV producer CBV.

LONDON, March 10: LIVING has picked up the comedic drama series Drop Dead Diva from Sony Pictures Television.

MUNICH, March 9: Tandem Communications has begun principal photography on its newest movie, The Lost Future, for commissioning broadcasters RTL Television of Germany and Syfy in the U.S.

PARIS, March 8: Jonathan Miller, the chief digital officer and chairman and CEO of the digital media group at News Corporation, will deliver a MIP Digital keynote on April 13.

MADRID/NEW YORK, March 8: Spain's Group Prisa is to receive a $900 million cash injection via a merger deal with Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corp., a U.S.-based special-purpose acquisition company.

LONDON, March 8: ITV Studios' newly created entertainment format Marco's Kitchen Burnout has been commissioned by ITV1 for broadcast in spring.

LONDON, March 8: Virgin Media has added Film4 HD and E4 HD to its digital TV platform, bringing such offerings as the blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire and hit series Glee and Hollyoaks to the lineup in high definition.

LONDON, March 8: The lifestyle channel Fine Living Network (FLN) will launch on April 1 across more than 60 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

HARRINGTON PARK, March 8: Janson Media has licensed the non-theatrical rights to Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia from its Giant Screen Film collection to EDIMA of France.

LONDON, March 8: October Films' Rude Tube International has been sold by RDF Rights into a number of new territories, including Denmark, Hungary and Japan.

STOCKHOLM, March 8: Modern Times Group (MTG) has named Laurence Miall-d'Aout as chief of staff for its free-TV operations and Martin Lewerth as chief of staff for the group’s pay-TV sector.

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 8: Philip Bourchier O’Ferrall has been upped to senior VP of digital media for MTV Networks International.

LONDON, March 5: CBBC has commissioned two further seasons of its hit Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

LONDON, March 5: SCI FI Channel in the Benelux is to become Syfy Universal this month, debuting its new look alongside three territory premieres: Stargate Universe, Primeval and Sanctuary.

MIAMI, March 5: The Telemundo Internacional telenovela Beautiful, but Unlucky takes a 2:30 p.m. time slot, Monday through Friday, on BTV in Bulgaria as of March 8.

NEW YORK, March 4: Shine Group's chairman and CEO, Elisabeth Murdoch, was interviewed by World Screen's group editorial director, Anna Carugati, at NATPE this year.

NEW YORK, March 4: Jeff Gomez and Nathan Mayfield will be hosting a session at the MIPTV Producers' Forum—a two-day initiative organized in association with World Screen—about developing stories and concepts across multiple platforms.

MUNICH, March 4: ProSiebenSat.1 Media has reported improved results for 2009, with a fourth-quarter profit of 113.4 million, as compared with a 170 million euros loss in the year-ago period, and a full-year profit of 144.5 million euros, versus the 129.1 million euros loss in 2008.

PARIS, March 4: Elisabeth Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of the Shine Group, and Joanna Shields, the former CEO of Bebo and president of AOL's social media and communications businesses, will deliver a joint MIP Digital Keynote on the Tuesday of MIPTV.

LONDON, March 4: Sony Pictures Television has struck a deal to launch Sony Entertainment Television (SET) on BT Vision's digital on-demand TV service in the U.K.

HILVERSUM, March 4: John de Mol's Talpa Media has set up a co-owned joint venture with Spanish production outfit Boomerang TV Group.

LONDON, March 4: CAKE Entertainment has licensed the live-action tween comedy series Cartoon Gene to the BBC and Germany's ZDF.

LONDON, March 4: Turner Broadcasting has picked up the exclusive U.K. rights to air all 26 half-hour episodes of the animated series Mr. Bean on its Boomerang Channel.

LONDON, March 4: The game-show format Cash at Your Door joins the slate of ALL3MEDIA International, which already has pre-launch options secured for the show.

LONDON, March 4: Two key executive appointments have been made within Five's programming department, where there's a new commissioning executive for daytime and soaps and commissioning editor of factual.

LONDON, March 3: ITV plc reported a pre-tax profit of £25 million for 2009, as compared with its 2008 loss of £2.7 billion, on revenues that were down by 7 percent to £1.9 billion.

NEW YORK, March 3: The Producers' Forum is a new two-day initiative at MIPTV, organized in association with World Screen. Kicking off a series on the panelists at Producers' Forum, David Lyle, the president of Fox Reality Channel, discusses the Entertainment Master Class on selling and protecting formats.