BURBANK: Disney Channel has optioned Upside-Down Magic, a book series from Scholastic, for development as an original TV show. Upside-Down Magic follows the misadventures of Nory, the youngest in a family of elite magicians, who finds herself relegated to a class for misfits after one magical mishap too many. She ...

NEW YORK: ABC Television Network in the U.S. has picked up a second season of 500 Questions, an event game show created by Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell. 500 Questions challenges the country’s smartest people to answer 500 extremely difficult general-knowledge questions. United Artists Media Group produces the program in ...

MUMBAI/HYDERABAD: Following on a previously announced acquisition, Star India has now successfully completed the integration of the broadcast business of MAA Television Network. MAA Television Network is one of the leading broadcast networks in the Telugu-language market. It has a bouquet of four channels: maa, maa Music, maa Movies and ...

TORONTO: Temple Street Distribution, the newly launched sales arm of Temple Street Productions, has added to its catalogue the animated show Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate, marking the company's first third-party acquisition. Temple Street will serve as the exclusive global distributor of Ollie! The Boy Who Became ...

SYDNEY: Michelle Guthrie has been appointed to succeed Mark Scott as the managing director of the ABC, taking up the post in May 2016. Guthrie will officially join the ABC in early April for a month-long transition with Scott. As managing director, Guthrie will retain responsibility for all editorial content, ...

MUNICH: Studio 100 Media and Studio 100 Animation have inked a co-production and distribution deal with EuropaCorp Television for Arthur and the Minimoys: The Series, a new CGI animated show that is being presented at MIPCOM. Arthur and the Minimoys: The Series follows a normal little boy who enters a ...

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has acquired the exclusive broadcast and online rights across the Nordic region for football from Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A until 2018, in addition to extending its exclusive rights agreement for France’s Ligue 1. MTG now holds the exclusive rights for broadcast and ...

HONG KONG: RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network, which operates RTL CBS Entertainment HD and RTL CBS Extreme HD, has expanded its footprint to 18 territories in just 18 months. “Territories like Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are obvious growth markets with great potential as the populations are huge, while the ...

HONG KONG: OTT platforms, social-media engagement, the future of pay TV, piracy and advertising were among the key issues discussed at the CASBAA Convention, which ended in Hong Kong yesterday. The convention took place at a new venue, the Intercontinental Hotel, under the theme “Making Waves.” Speakers on day one ...

LONDON: BT has become the first TV service in the U.K. to support 4K Netflix streaming, offering Ultra HD content through a set-top box. The UHD content can be accessed through an updated version of the Netflix app on Ultra HD YouView+ set-top box. Users also need to have Netflix's ...