LONDON: The U.K.’s Channel 4 has commissioned several new factual titles, among them the one-off documentary 18 Kids and Counting (working title). That hour-long special, produced by Lion Television, will chart the large Radford clan from Morecombe in Lancashire. The program will also chronicle another of Britain’s biggest broods, following ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Geographic Channel (NGC) has revealed the cast for Saints & Strangers, a four-hour TV movie event directed by Paul Edwards and produced by Sony Pictures Television with Little Engine Productions. Saints & Strangers tells the story of the first European settlers at Plymouth and their interactions with ...

MIAMI: Keith Summa has been named senior VP of content innovation at Univision News, a post set to ramp up the development of new journalistic tools on different platforms for the news division of U.S. Latino media giant Univision Communications Inc. (UCI). Summa will report directly to Isaac Lee, the ...

Positioned as the home of premium original British drama, BBC First is among the newest channels in the BBC Worldwide portfolio. The network was born out of the company’s solid foundation in British drama, as well as the popularity of drama programming in general at the moment, according to George ...

PITTSBURGH: PBS Kids in the U.S. has given the go-ahead to new seasons of the series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Odd Squad, both from The Fred Rogers Company. The third run of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood will feature 20 new episodes, slated to roll out next year. A second season of ...

NEW YORK: John Cora, a former FOX Networks Group exec, has joined Sprout as the 24-hour preschool network's new VP of insights and strategy. Working under Sandy Wax, Sprout's president, Cora will oversee all aspects of analytics and metrics related to the viewing of programming on both Sprout and NBC ...

LOS ANGELES: Jane Tranter is planning to exit her post as head of BBC Worldwide Productions and Adjacent Productions this August, to be succeeded by Matt Forde, currently the executive VP of TV sales and digital distribution. Forde's role will expand to include leading both L.A.-based production units, under the ...

TORONTO: Fresh TV is producing the half-hour scripted series Backstage, set within a performing arts school, for Family Channel to debut in spring 2016. The 30×30-minute docudrama features diary-style confessionals and dramatic cliffhangers to tell the stories of these talented teens who are chasing their dreams while balancing day-to-day realities ...

VANCOUVER: The Oznoz original miniseries Lili & Lola, made by Big Bad Boo Studios, will be released later this week on the OTT channel for bilingual preschoolers in North America. Lili & Lola follows the adventures of two sisters living in a small apartment in a big city. The 5×7-minute program ...

BERLIN: The German media giants ProSiebenSat.1 and Axel Springer are said to be in talks regarding a potential merger, valued at 14.4 billion euros ($15.9 billion). ProSiebenSat.1 Media is Germany’s biggest commercial broadcaster, and Axel Springer is the country’s largest newspaper publisher. Together, the two companies delivered 2014 revenue of ...