Ugly Betty Licensed to 130 Territories Worldwide

BURBANK, May 21: Disney-ABC International Television has
closed deals in 130 territories on the ABC series Ugly Betty, the U.S. adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Betty
la fea.

Announcing the news yesterday as the studio unveiled its new
network pickups, Laurie Younger, the president of Disney-ABC Worldwide
Television, commented, “at the heart of Ugly Betty is a story, and a heroine, which both appeal
universally across different cultures. We look forward to working with clients
to build on the early success of the show—with more international
launches to come later this year.”

The U.K. launch in January on Channel 4 garnered 4.9 million
viewers, while the Asia-Pacific debut in New Zealand on TVNZ’s TV2 was the
number-one show of the night across all demos. The series launched on Seven
Network Australia on February 18 with more than 2 million viewers, making it
the highest rated new series in 2007. Other strong performances include those
on Norway’s TVNorge, Malaysia’s 8TV, Singapore’s Channel 5, Hong Kong’s TVB
Pearl and Sweden’s Kanal 5.

Unveiling its new slate in Burbank last night, Disney-ABC
International Television announced the launch of 11 new series and 12 returning
productions. New one hour dramas are Dirty
Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Private Practice, and Reaper, and new half-hour comedies are Carpoolers, Cavemen, Miss/Guided and Sam I Am. Also joining its portfolio are three series
for cable that premiere this summer: Army Wives, Greek and Slacker Cats. The
company’s 10 returning one-hour series are Brothers
& Sisters, Criminal
Minds, Desperate Housewives, Dirt, Ghost Whisperer, Grey’s
Anatomy, Kyle XY, Lincoln Heights, Lost, October Road and Ugly
Betty. The half-hour comedy
series Scrubs is also
returning.