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Fast-growing German media group Leonine has set up a new production joint venture with Oliver Pocher, one of Germany's best-known comedians and TV personalities. The new shingle, Pool of Brainz, will be a 50/50 venture between Pocher and Leonine's television group i&u TV. Based in Cologne, the company will develop television format ideas for the German and international markets.

The company's first project will be a live entertainment format, Pocher vs. Wendler – Schluss mit lustig!, which premieres on German commercial network Rtl this Sunday.

Leonine, the media group formed by private equity group Kkr, is quickly ...

Cologne, Germany -- Heads are rolling again at German commercial channel Sat.1, which on Wednesday dropped network boss Guido Bolten after barely a year at the job.

Bolten came in with an aggressive strategy aimed at winning back market share from competitor Rtl. He pulled out the checkbook to lure comedy star Oliver Pocher and top journo Johannes B. Kerner from the public broadcasters. But the ratings didn't follow. Sat.1's market share in the key 14-49 demo stayed flat at 10.8%, even as Rtl pulled ahead, adding 1.2% to 16.9%

So Bolten is out and channel owner ProSiebenSat.1 is overhauling its entire corporate lineup.

The group has already centralized Fiction programming across its portfolio of German channels -- which alongside Sat.1 include Pro7, Kabel1 and several digital and pay channels -- now it has done the same for entertainment and factual programming.

Jobst Benthues, managing director of production subsidiary Red Seven, takes...

COLOGNE, Germany -- Regional subsidy group Filmstifftung NRW announced Tuesday it is backing German director Tobi Baumann's Vollidiot (Blithering Idiot) with €1.1 million ($1.3 million) in production funding. The movie is a romantic comedy based on the best seller by German author Tommy Jaud. Baumann's feature film debut, The Wanker, was a sleeper hit in 2004. Vollidiot stars German television comedian Oliver Pocher in his first feature film role. Pocher plays Simon, a no-luck 20-something who falls for the wrong woman again and again.