World Screen

CANNES: A host of acquisitions were made in the entertainment and factual genres by BBC Worldwide Channels for BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and BBC Entertainment. All five titles acquired by BBC Worldwide Channels come from ALL3MEDIA International. Among the pickups …

CANNES: FremantleMedia’s British and German production companies, talkbackTHAMES and UFA, are forming a joint drama development unit, it was announced at MIPCOM today. Based in Berlin, the unit will be jointly managed by Johnathan Young, the head of drama at talkbackTHAMES, …

CANNES: DQ Entertainment, along with partners ZDF and ZDF Enterprises, NBC Universal, TF1, ABC in Australia, MoonScoop, BBC and Disney, presented the first full 11-minute episode of the new 3-D CGI series The Jungle Book. The Jungle Book, based on …

CANNES: France 5 Télévision is set to air the series WordWorld in 2010, while France Télévisions Distribution picked up French-speaking rights worldwide for the series covering TV, home entertainment and licensing and merchandising. The multimedia property helps children learn English …

CANNES: Scripps Networks Interactive unveiled its international channel expansion plans at MIPCOM today, announcing a deal with Chello Zone to bring the Food Network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a launch on Sky in the U.K. slated for …

CANNES: ABC Studios’ new drama FlashForward has added nine more broadcasters to its roster, bringing the total number of territories the series is set to air in to more than 100. Disney-ABC-ESPN Television is working with partners across all platforms …

CANNES: Two executives have been promoted in Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) London-based distribution team: Ian Durndell and Andreas Brosjo. Durndell takes on an expanded role as VP of digital and on-demand distribution. He is tasked with oversight for SPT’s on-demand …

CANNES: Cineflix’s new branded-content division has been set up to focus on creating advertiser and production integration with the company’s brands, and to produce original branded entertainment across all media platforms. The new division will be headed up by Paul …

CANNES: Metan Development Group has firmed up a deal with Power for the exclusive distribution rights in China for the popular daytime soap operas Guiding Light and As the World Turns. Metan will be the exclusive representative in China for …

LONDON: Former Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Television executive Sander Schwartz has been tapped to lead FremantleMedia Enterprises’s (FME) expansion into the kids’ and family programming sector. Schwartz has been named executive VP and head of children and family entertainment, reporting …