Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine International moves headquarters to London from L.A.

Elisabeth Murdoch's rapidly growing international sales and distribution arm for her TV production company Shine is buttoning up its headquarters in Los Angeles and moving to London.

Shine International, which sells such successful television formats as "MasterChef" and "The Biggest Loser," will keep a small presence in L.A., the company said in a statement Tuesday.

However, the division's president, Chris Grant, has decided not to relocate to Britain. He will stay on with Shine for six months to help with the transition.

Grant's exit comes in the wake of the resignation of Howard T. Owens, the longtime managing director of Shine's U.S. television company Reveille. Owens' employment contract ends in June. He is being replaced by Eden Gaha, executive producer of "Celebrity Apprentice."

Owens' and Grant's departures are significant because they represent the completion of the management change-over from the Ben Silverman era of Reveille to one that better reflects the tastes and discipline of Murdoch, the daughter of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Silverman, the former NBC programmer, sold Reveille -- which had been something of a seat-of-the-pants operation with big credits including the U.S. remake of "The Office" -- to Murdoch in 2008 for about $125 million. Silverman relied heavily on four executives, including Owens and Grant, to run the operation, and Silverman's underlings stayed on with Reveille after Murdoch acquired the production company.

“At this stage of the company’s growth, Shine International needs its headquarters alongside our teams that manage and exploit group formats, brands and digital rights, with local sales experts in our global production centers," Shine Group President Alex Mahon said in a statement. She will assume overall responsibility for Shine International in the interim.

The restructuring does not affect former Fox Studios chief Emiliano Calemzuk, who continues as chief executive of Shine Group Americas, in charge of operations in the U.S., Canada and South America. 

Executive Vice President John Pollak will continue as sales head through the end of the year. Martin Rakusen, senior vice president for business and operations, plans to relocate to the London office. 

“I am incredibly proud of the substantial growth that Shine International has achieved since we started the company, and particularly in the last few years since joining the Shine Group," Grant said in the statement. "L.A. is my home and rather than relocate, it is also a good time for me to allow my colleagues to build on the success we have, together, created.”

In addition to the London headquarters, Shine International will have offices in France, Germany, Australia and the Nordic region.

-- Meg James

Top left photo:  Elisabeth Murdoch. Credit:  Tim Matthews / Allstar 

Bottom right photo:  Ben Silverman with Steve Carell of "The Office." Credit:  Chris Carlson / Associated Press

Former MTV executives Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley form studio within Ben Silverman's company

There is life after MTV.  

Two longtime executives of the youth-oriented network, Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley, on Monday unveiled their new venture -- DiGa -- which they described as an independent production studio housed within Ben Silverman's company, Electus, a business unit of Barry Diller's IAC. The firm will be based in New York, but they said they will open a production and editing office in Los Angeles.

DiSanto and Gateley said they plan to develop scripted and unscripted prime-time TV shows to sell to networks and cable channels, including MTV. They already have several projects in development, including a potential comedy series starring the personality Amanda Diva; a fashion series from Jill Martin, author of "Fashion for Dummies," and a few projects from Jackhole Industries, a collaboration of Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla and Daniel Kellison.

"Liz and I are thrilled to partner and form DiGa, the next logical step in our career as we look to expand on the work we did together at MTV as producers and executives," DiSanto said in a statement. "We look forward to creating and developing content in a variety of mediums and for new outlets, while also continuing a great relationship with MTV Networks, our long-time home."

DiGa means "speak" in Spanish and is also a combination of DiSanto's and Gateley's last names. DiSanto started as a production assistant at MTV in 1989 and rose through the ranks, working on some of MTV's most successful programming, including "Total Request Live with Carson Daly," and "Jersey Shore."  He became president of programming in June 2009 and left the network at the end of 2010. Gateley joined MTV in 2003 as a development executive and was deeply involved in the creation of "Laguna Hills," "America's Best Dance Crew," "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom." She also departed the network at the end of last year.

It had been rumored that the pair would go into business with Silverman, the former William Morris agent, producer and NBC programming executive. Silverman's Electus will retain distribution rights to shows that DiGa produces.

-- Meg James 

 

The Morning Fix: Oscar working on timing. Hasbro and Discovery not toying around. `Superman' has its director.

After the coffee. Before yet another flight to New York.

The Skinny: Discovery's and Hasbro's new kids channel doesn't premiere until Sunday, but the critics are already pouncing. Can't Google everyone with Google TV. "Superman" has its next director. The FCC wants more dirt from Comcast and NBC Universal as part of its review

Oscars on the move. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences wants to move the annual Oscar Awards telecasts from its current home of the end of February or early March to January or early February. The motivation is to make the Oscars one of the first awards shows instead of the last so there is less chance of awards-show fatigue impacting the telecast's ratings. The challenge is finding a new home that won't get run over by football. Huh? That's right, football. See, the NFL wants to expand its regular season to 18 games (that's a debate for another day) and if (when) that happens, it will mean the Super Bowl and probably some of the playoffs will get pushed well into February. That means the Oscar folks (and host network ABC) have to find a home where they won't bump up against all that football hype on rival networks and still get ahead of other shows. The scoop from the Los Angeles Times.

Not toying around. On Sunday, Discovery and Hasbro will launch "The Hub," a new cable channel aimed primarily at kids age 6-11. Not only will it face tough competition from entrenched channels such as Viacom's Nickelodeon and Disney's Disney Channel and Disney XD, it will also be scrutinized by media watchdogs. That's because there are concerns that Hasbro will try to make the network into nothing but ads for its toys. The channel's boss, respected kids TV executive Margaret Loesch, says that won't be the case and that only about 20% of Hub shows are based on Hasbro products. But will that be enough to silence the critics? More on The Hub from the Los Angeles Times.

Google this! Google, the search engine that wants to become the connector between the Internet and the television, unveiled its content partners, but the list was more notable for who wasn't on it. While several cable networks, including CNBC, HBO and Turner Broadcasting are on board, the big broadcast networks are steering clear of Google -- for now anyway. To get Google TV, at least in its early incarnation, you'll need either a Sony high-definition TV set, a Blu-ray player or a special set-top box. In other words, it may take a little while for this thing to take off. More on Google's small-screen dreams from the New York Times.

Peace accord. Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa is shelling out $130 million for a 5% stake in Univision and an additional $1.07 billion in convertible debt that translates into 30% of Univision's shares, according to the Wall Street Journal. Besides giving Univision a much needed infusion, it ends years of acrimony between the two media giants.

And the backlash begins. Although many critics are worshiping "The Social Network" and already talking about how many Oscar nominations it should get, gripes about the portrayal of women in the movie are starting to surface. Missing from the movie, says Rebecca Davis O'Brien in the Daily Beast, are women who aren't "doting groupies, vengeful sluts, or dumpy, feminist killjoys." 

He's baaack! Former NBC Enertainment chief Ben Silverman is back to doing what he does best -- making new versions of successful shows. He's near a deal to make a sitcom for ABC based on an old Latin American comedy called "I Hate This Place." Not sure what's more ironic, that ABC -- whose old entertainment chief Steve McPherson loathed Silverman -- will be home for the show or that Deadline Hollywood, which relished in Silverman's downfall at NBC, was where the story was leaked.

Super Director. Zack Snyder, whose credits include "300" and "Watchmen," has been tapped to direct the latest version of "Superman" for Warner Bros. and Legend Pictures. Chris Nolan will produce. Deadline Hollywood on the choice and what Snyder's thoughts are about taking on the franchise.

Where's mine? The Wrap makes the shocking discovery that even in a field as challenged as journalism, there are some people pulling down huge salaries. Next you'll tell me there are hockey players making big bucks too. The hook for the story is that Michael Ausiello, an Entertainment Weekly writer best known for his television casting scoops, is launching his own website, backed by the owners of Deadline Hollywood. Hey, if someone wants to pay top dollar for content, you'll get no complaints from me.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Thomas Tull, the chairman of Legendary Pictures, is buying out his original investors and has new partners in Fortress Investment Group and Fidelity. The Federal Communications Commission wants more inside information from Comcast and NBC Universal as part of its review of their pending merger. 

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter and I'll tweet you something special. Twitter.com/JBFlint

Barry Diller and Ben Silverman looking into fitness

Media moguls Barry Diller and Ben Silverman want to get Fit.

The two have proposed acquiring a piece of FitTV. They would like to enter into a joint venture with Discovery Communications, which owns the channel, according to one industry source who is knowledgeable about the situation.

None of the companies involved wanted to discuss the talks, which are said to be extremely preliminary.

FitTV is one of Discovery's smallest channels; it was launched in late 2003 and is available in 50 million homes. But the half-pint network has ambitions to tone up, and it bills itself as an interactive channel that "inspires consumers to improve their fitness and well-being -- on their own terms."

Sounds like a good fit for Diller and Silverman, who are looking to bulk up their media holdings. And some would say they like things to be "on their own terms." Discovery, meanwhile, has shown a willingness to enter into joint ventures. It is famously partnering with Oprah Winfrey to launch OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network early next year on what is currently Discovery Health. It also entered into a joint venture with Hasbro Inc. and the two companies plan to rebrand Discovery Kids as "The Hub" later this year. 

Since he left NBC Universal last summer, Silverman has been gearing up his new company, Electus, which is part of Diller's IAC. And Silverman knows a thing or two about positioning fitness. One of the most successful shows produced by his former company, Reveille, is "The Biggest Loser," which continues to be a heavyweight in the ratings for NBC.  

And once, while Silverman was having lunch at the Burbank eatery Mo's, he sent a hapless waiter back to the kitchen when he attempted to serve Silverman and his party gourmet burgers with buns. Silverman said with disdain: "Do we look like people who eat buns?"

-- Meg James

Upper photo: Barry Diller. Credit: Douglas Pizac / Associated Press

Lower photo: Ben Silverman. Credit: Dan Steinberg/ Associated Press