World Screen

TORONTO: The U.S. Attorney’s Office has cleared former Peace Arch CEO Gary Howsam of bank fraud charges, some 18 months since his arrest in Los Angeles. The charges related to film financing deals with Comerica Bank in 1999 and 2000. …

LONDON: Kasia Jablonska has taken on the role of commercial director for Central and Eastern Europe at NBC Universal Global Networks, based in London. Jablonska will play a key role in establishing and expanding NBC Universal’s entertainment channels across Central …

NEW YORK: Nine new shows and five returning series round out MTV’s 2009 programming slate, including The Hills coming back for another season without star Lauren Conrad. MTV, which has more top ten shows for the 12-to-34 set than any …

HAMILTON: Recording an $81.8 million impairment charge on its Bulgarian operations, Central European Media Enterprises (CME) posted a first-quarter loss of $44.4 million, on revenues that were down 37 percent to $141.2 million, with a segment EBITDA of $19.7 million. "The …

TORONTO: DECODE Enterprises has landed further international deals for the live-action teen series The Latest Buzz, which has been commissioned for a third season by Canada’s Family Channel. Turner Broadcasting picked up season three for Boomerang in the U.K., seasons …

NEW YORK: More than 100 feature films, including the blockbuster Spider-Man 2, are now available on the online video network Crackle.com, with dozens more on the way. Crackle.com, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s premium video website, features titles such as Groundhog Day, …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide Australia has wrapped up a number of deals with Australian and New Zealand networks following this year’s MIPTV for titles such as Christian the Lion. Christian the Lion, picked up by the Seven Network, is a documentary film …

RESTON: American Internet users watched 14.5 billion videos online last month, according to comScore Video Metrix, an 11-percent increase on February, with Google-owned YouTube accounting for more than 40 percent of the market. In March, Google sites once again ranked as …

TORONTO: Andy Warhol’s Factory People, Planet Luxury and The Bully’s Mark are among the titles Canamedia has closed recent deals on. The three-part arts/biography title Andy Warhol’s Factory People was sold into Australia, Spain and Denmark, which the one-hour culture …

NEW YORK: Time Warner’s first quarter profit fell 14 percent to $661 million, a result that was better than Wall Street expectations, on revenues of $6.9 billion, reflecting a 7-percent decline, largely as a result of AOL and the publishing and …