Latest in FremantleMedia International

The Voice producer Talpa Media is to forge a closer relationship with parent company ITV after promoting Maarten Meijs to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Meijs, who has overseen the company's Talpa Global business for a number of years, will be the company's first lead between it and ITV and its associated…

International TV business models are changing… the BBC has partnered with digital broadcaster UKTV to co-fund a Planet Earth-style documentary series produced by the former head of the BBC's Natural History Unit. BBC Two and UKTV's Dave are partnering on Expedition with Steve Backshall, produced by Wendy Darke's…

The Queen is heading around the world after FremantleMedia International sold documentary The Coronation into 70 territories. The distributor revealed that it closed agreements on the Atlantic Productions doc, which aired on BBC One in the UK and Smithsonian Channel in the U.S. at Mip TV. The Coronation has been…

EXCLUSIVE: FremantleMedia International's Global Content Chief Katrina Neylon is to leave the business after six months. I understand that Neylon, who joined the company in September from Studiocanal, has resigned. Her departure comes as the RTL-owned company gears up for Mip TV in Cannes, where it will be looking to…

Amazon is getting into the American Idol business in the UK after snapping up the rights to the talent format from FremantleMedia International. The streaming service will air episodes of the singing contest weekly in the UK with new episodes airing on a Tuesday, after debuting on ABC in the U.S. on Sunday nights. Amer…

SVOD service Acorn TV has acquired the U.S. rights to FremantleMedia International's crime drama No Offence. The digital platform has picked up the first two seasons of the series, which was created by Shameless and State of Play creator Paul Abbott. The drama, which is produced by AbbottVision for Channel 4, is a…

Peter Wyngarde, star of British TV series including Department S and the 1980 Flash Gordon film, has died at age 90. Wyngarde, who also had roles in Doctor Who, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and The Saint, died at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London. Thomas Bowington, his agent and manager, told the…

Alibaba Pictures has named Fan Luyuan as CEO and chairman of the executive committee, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. Fan is already executive director and member of the executive committee. He succeeds Yu Yongfu, the fast-rising tech exec who was appointed CEO last…

The X Factor UK will air on AXS TV in the U.S. for a long time to come. The cable network has re-upped a multi-year deal with FremantleMedia International and Syco Entertainment to continue to broadcast The X Factor UK, and will premiere Season 13 of the hit reality music competition series on August 28 and 29. The…

EXCLUSIVE: FremantleMedia International has closed a trio of major deals on its London-set drama, Capital. Participant Media's Pivot has acquired rights in the U.S., Shaw has taken Canada, and BBC Worldwide picked up Australia and New Zealand. The tense three-part series adaptation of the bestselling novel by John…

EXCLUSIVE: FremantleMedia International has hired former Red Arrow International exec Caroline Kusser as SVP, Sales and Distribution of its U.S. arm. The newly created position will see the exec based in LA and reporting to New York-based SEVP of Television & Digital Distribution for North America, Lisa Honig. Kusser…

Europe’s largest pan-continental pay TV platform Sky is setting up a dedicated Sky Arts Production Hub in Milan to bring new dedicated content its 21 million customers across Italy, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the UK.  The move, which carries with it a commitment of $20 million in new spending, is one of the first…