Programming team changes at A+E Networks UK as Dan Korn is set to take over from the Lifetime and C+I channel director Koulla Anastasi who is leaving.

A+E Networks UK is changing its programming team, with Deadline reporting that Koulla Anastasi, the channel director of the Lifetime (DStv 131) and Crime+Investigation (DStv 170) channels, is apparently a gonner.

Dan Korn will be taking over Koulla Anastasi's content commitments.

Dan Korn is the vice president for A+E Networks UK in London and visited South Africa and Johannesburg in late May for the press launch of that History of Football pop-up channel on MultiChoice's DStv that A+E Networks Africa didn't really want media to be at and couldn't bother to tell them about.

Koulla Anastasi was responsible for the rolling out of the Lifetime Africa channel when it launched on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa and across Africa.

Koulla Anastasi was also responsible for commissioning the local South African adaptation of Four Weddings South Africa for Lifetime Africa that was produced by Rapid Blue, and shows on Crime+Investigation like Crimes that shook Britain and Britain's Darkest Taboos.

A+E Networks UK in a statement told Deadline that "We re in discussions about the future design of the company and the impact this may have on some roles. While consultations with staff are taking place it would be inappropriate to discuss any further".

History channel to broadcast History of Football from May ahead of the 2018 World Cup as part of a special programming strand with over 40 hours of content.

The History (DStv 186) channel will broadcast History of Football from 28 May to 10 June in South Africa and across Africa as part of a 14-day programming strand that A+E Networks will run globally in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.

History of Football will be broadcast in 160 territories and countries, including South Africa and across Africa and include over 40 hours of content that will be a blend of global and local programming.

History will broadcast a slate of original, globally-focused, premium documentary series as well as short-form specials, complemented by a careful curation of World Cup films, as well as locally-sourced TV series and documentaries that will offer a unique lens into each country’s particular passions for football.

“We conceived History of Football as a deeply immersive television event capitalising on one of those rare moments in our global culture, the World Cup, when a huge segment of the world population becomes so passionately connected,” says Patrick Vien, A+E Networks International’s executive managing director.

“History’s world-class storytelling has produced and curated a unique combination of global and local programming, long-form and short-form, to give viewers a wide swath of football content that, all combined, will tell the many phenomenal stories that define the game. It’s the biggest international programming initiative History has undertaken and I could not be prouder of our team.”

“With opinions on football so strong among fans worldwide, History’s vast programming slate for this event will aim to engage and ignite an entertaining debate on exactly what were the ultimate historic moments of the sport, who stands as the best player in history, which coaches most shaped the game and so much more,” says Dan Korn, the executive producer of History of Football and the vice president of programming for A+E UK.

“For both the most intense and the more casual fans, History will present 14 days of nothing but the story of the game.”