World Screen

LONDON: KidsCo is to join the lineup of the South African pay-TV service On Digital Media (ODM) in May. The channel will broadcast classics such as Inspector Gadget, Sabrina: The Animated Series, Rolie Polie Olie and The Wiggles. KidsCo will …

TORONTO: Total Drama Island producer Fresh TV, in association with Canada’s TELETOON, is in production on its first live-action TV movie, My Babysitter’s a Vampire, which is slated for an October debut. Set to air on TELETOON’s English- and French-language services, …

TORONTO: Tricon Films & Television has appointed former Portfolio Entertainment sales executive Jon Rutherford as VP of international sales and acquisitions. Rutherford will be responsible for all aspects of sales for the company’s factual and scripted catalogue, with a long-term …

CUPERTINO: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has posted an open letter, called Thoughts on Flash, outlining his reasons for keeping Adobe’s Flash platform off iPhones, iPods and most recently iPads. Flash is the format of choice for video on the web, …

LONDON: BSkyB has reached an agreement with Ofcom over the regulator’s controversial decision on the pricing of the platform’s sports channels for other operators, pending the resolution of its appeal lodged with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Last month, Ofcom …

SILVER SPRING: Secret Life of Elephants, a two-hour exploration into the lives of more than 900 elephants that roam Kenya’s National Samburu Reserve, makes its debut on May 16 at 8 p.m. on Animal Planet. Shot in HD, Secret Life …

WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Geographic Channel has entered into a deal with yap films to co-produce the three-part series Storm Worlds, which looks at what would happen to if the deadliest weather in the universe descended upon our planet. Set to …

LOS ANGELES: On May 4, the video for Miley Cyrus’s newest single, Can’t Be Tamed, is to make its worldwide debut exclusively on E! Entertainment Television during E! News. The video will make it premiere at 7 p.m. and again …

SILVER SPRING: First-quarter revenues at Discovery Communications gained 8 percent to $879 million, with its international networks contributing $293 million—a 16-percent gain—and delivering an operating income of $124 million, reflecting a 29-percent increase. The international channels saw ad revenues jump 44 …

PARIS: The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. have all opened up their film libraries to make movies available to rent or purchase through the iTunes stores in …