World Screen

NEW YORK: Setanta Sports will cease broadcasts of its premium channel in the U.S. and the Caribbean on February 28 and is transferring select soccer and rugby rights to Fox Soccer Channel. Announcing the move yesterday, Leonard Ryan, co-founder of …

BURBANK: After four seasons, ABC is pulling the plug on Ugly Betty, with the series set to end its run in April. The show, which launched on ABC in 2006, was inspired by the hit Latin American novela Betty, la …

NEW DELHI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific is taking the Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo brands to India, with a slot on DTH platform Tata Sky and plans to expand to other operators across the country. The English-language, 24-hour services bring …

LAS VEGAS: Elisabeth Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of the Shine Group, talked about the importance of embracing social networking tools in her International Keynote at NATPE this morning, which was followed by a Q&A with World Screen‘s Anna Carugati …

SYDNEY: The Australian children’s production outfits Buster Dandy Productions—whose credits include Five Minutes More—and Sticky Pictures—the venture that co-produces Dennis & Gnasher—have merged. The merger brings together Buster Dandy’s live-action capabilities with Sticky Pictures’ animation production skills. The new company will operate …

LONDON: Michael Carrington is to leave his post at the BBC as controller of CBeebies to take on the role of chief content officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Turner Broadcasting. Carrington will be responsible for the …

SINGAPORE: StarHub TV is launching three new channels under the FOX International Channels umbrella starting February 1: FOX, tvN and Nat Geo Music. The three channels will initially be available free to StarHub subscribers for a month. Additionally, Nat Geo …

MUNICH: KPMG has embarked on the sale of the TV-Loonland library of programming, after the kids’ content outfit, unable to repay its debts, was placed under preliminary administration by a German insolvency court last month. The preliminary insolvency administrator, Munich-based attorney Dr. Wolfgang …

SAN FRANCISCO: Just half-an-inch thick and weighing 1.5 pounds, Apple’s new iPad allows users to browse the web, read and send emails, view and store photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read e-books and more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution …

LONDON: BSkyB has triumphed in its five-year-old lawsuit against Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for deceit, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract. At the Royal Courts of Justice, Justice Ramsey found that EDS—which was acquired by Hewlett Packaged in 2008 and rebranded as …