World Screen

BURBANK: Twelve returning series on the ABC schedule, including Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters and Private Practice, have been given early pickups for the 2009-2010 season. Ugly Betty, currently in its third season, was among the shows whose future had been …

NEW YORK: Showcasing its upcoming programming slate at its Upfront presentation in New York, BET Networks announced the launch of a new entertainment and music channel, called Centric, targeting affluent African-American adults. The new service, slated for a Q4 rollout …

LOS ANGELES: The Style Network has a new unscripted series, tentatively titled Mothers and Daughters of Dallas, set for an eight-episode run this fall. The docuseries follows the lives of fashion- and status-obsessed mothers and daughters from the Texas social …

NEW YORK: The Internet TV platform Joost, set up by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, is said to be looking for a buyer, with Time Warner Cable reportedly among the companies exploring a bid for the service. Launched two …

TORONTO: VIVA, Corus Entertainment’s women-skewing Canadian channel targeting the baby-boomer generation, has launched a daily programming block dedicated to all things culinary. Airing Monday to Sunday at 4 p.m., VIVA Cuisine will feature a lineup that focuses on food and …

MUNICH: Patrick Tillieux is exiting his position as COO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, effective June 30, with his responsibilities to be taken over by CEO Thomas Ebeling. Tillieux’s mandate included group operations, free and pay TV outside of Germany, radio and print. …

LONDON: Flame TV has been commissioned by Discovery UK to produce the 10×30-minute series Tommy’s Fix Your House for Free, which helps ordinary people do home improvements using materials other people have thrown away. The series is fronted by Ground …

ATLANTA: The new demolition competition series Destroy Build Destroy, premiering this summer as part of Cartoon Network’s new block of alternative live-action series, will be hosted by rock musician Andrew W.K. The show will feature teams, with the assistance of professions, …

MONTREAL: Distraction’s game-show format DNA recently made its German debut on WDR, notching up a 7.6-percent share in its 9 p.m. time slot. Tresor TV produced the series, which features contestants matching parent/child couples before moving on to a final …

LONDON: NBC Universal International Television Distribution has sold the exclusive U.K. multichannel rights for The Rachel Zoe Project to UKTV to air on its soon-to-relaunch lifestyle channel Really. The 6×1-hour observational-documentary series features celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and her trusted …