World Screen

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK/LONDON: Babelgum has entered into a partnership with Film Independent for a selection of content from the 24-year archive of the Spirit Awards, which will be available across the online platform and its free application for Apple’s iPhone …

LOS ANGELES: The launch schedule for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in January 2011 will include a one-hour prime-time documentary that goes behind the scenes of the talk-show host’s long-running syndicated series. Behind the Scenes: Oprah’s 25th Season will offer …

CULVER CITY: Sony Pictures Entertainment will be laying off a reported 450 employees, reflecting a 6.5-percent reduction in its global workforce, following a round of cuts last year. Michael Lynton, the chairman of SPE, and Amy Pascal, co-chair, broke the …

NEW YORK: The new Spike TV original series Half Pint Brawlers and Scrappers are to make their debut as a block, airing back-to-back, starting in June. The six-episode Half Pint Brawlers follows the adventures of a "little person" wrestling group …

WASHINGTON: Electus, the new multimedia company that Ben Silverman has set up at IAC, is partnering with Shine International to establish a new distribution company. Electus Distribution will handle worldwide sales for Electus’ content, including television, motion picture and digital. …

LONDON: Seven new titles from Frantic Films, totaling 64 hours of factual programming, have been added to Cineflix International’s portfolio. Included in the deal are the home-renovation series House Poor, makeover and lifestyle programs Rags to Red Carpet and Princess …

BOSTON: A new report published by Strategy Analytics has found that 68 percent of U.S. pay-TV customers would switch to a different platform if given a discount of 20 percent on their monthly fee. Cable customers are the most likely to …

STOCKHOLM: Viasat Broadcasting has entered into a joint venture with Da Vinci Media to launch a Russian version of the Da Vinci Learning channel in Russia and CIS countries. Da Vinci Learning is a knowledge and education channel that launched …

SYDNEY: Beyond Distribution has added Cream Productions’ I Could Do That! to its catalogue and will launch the 13-episode series internationally at MIPTV. The HD series was commissioned by Discovery Channel Canada and Discovery’s HD Theatre in the U.S. I …

DALLAS: HDNet has struck a multi-year partnership with Mark Burnett Presents: King of the Cage that sees the network featuring live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events every month. King of the Cage is an MMA organization that promotes events throughout …