World Screen

AMSTERDAM: As of May 1, Erik de Winter will take on the role of marketing sales director for Absolutely Independent, and in June, Bart Pijpers, an intern at the Dutch outfit, will become sales support executive. In his new role, …

SANTA MONICA: Among the networks and cablers that have signed on for the new WESTDOC Conference, which spotlights the documentary and reality TV genres, are ABC, Discovery Channel, Lifetime, National Geographic, E! Entertainment Television and MTV. Animal Planet, PBS’s American …

LOS ANGELES/HONG KONG: STAR has launched its leading Hindi-language entertainment channel STAR India Plus on the Comcast Cable platform in Houston, Texas. Featuring hit soaps like Bidaai and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai as well as light entertainment such as Nach Baliye …

MANILA: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has secured a carriage deal for its Discovery HD service in the Philippines with the SKYCABLE platform. Discovery HD will launch as part of SKYCABLE’s HD service, which is currently only available in Metro Manila. Discovery operates HD services …

LOS ANGELES: A Portuguese-language version of MGM Networks’ HD channel is launching on SKY Brazil, serving as a complement to its stand-definition counterpart, which debuted in Brazil in December 1997. The 24/7 linear network offers a library of classic and …

LOS ANGELES: After tapping former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta as the CEO of MySpace on Friday, News Corporation has made two further appointments at the company, including naming ex-Sling Media and MTV executive Jason Hirschhorn as chief product officer. Hirschhorn was most …

TORONTO: Cartoon Network in Asia and Australia has taken on 26 half-hour episodes of Breakthrough Entertainment’s Jimmy Two Shoes, joining a roster of broadcasters that already includes TELETOON in Canada, Jetix U.S., Jetix Europe and Nickelodeon Latin America. “Being the …

ATLANTA: Cartoon Network’s popular animated series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, created by Craig McCracken, will end its run on May 3 with a marathon of the final five episodes. The afternoon marathon from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Sunday includes …

LOS ANGELES: Newlywed celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic are put center stage in a new reality series for The Style Network, slated for an August premiere. The couple met at an event when Giuliana, anchor for E! News, was …

BEIJING: DOXTV is looking to provide pay-TV platforms in China with new set-top boxes delivering DVR and push VOD functionality, working in conjunction with NDS. DOXTV is using secure NDS XTV DVR technology, VideoGuard conditional access and MediaHighway middleware to bring …