World Screen

CHANNEL: FOX8 COUNTRY: Australia LAUNCH DATE: October 23, 1995 OWNERSHIP: FOXTEL, Australia’s leading pay-TV programming provider, which is owned by Telstra Corporation (50 percent), News Corporation (25 percent) and Consolidated Media Holdings (25 percent). DISTRIBUTION: The channel is available on …

LONDON: NBC Universal International Television Distribution has scored the international TV rights to Mattel’s Barbie animation franchise, while Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE) has picked up the DVD and download-to-own distribution rights. NBC Universal takes over the U.K. DVD rights and international television distribution …

LONDON: KidsCo has commissioned a new arts-and-crafts show, Jass Time!, from British outfit markthree media, reflecting the global kids’ channel’s first foray into original productions. Jass Time! is exclusive to the channel and will air across KidsCo throughout Europe, Russia, Middle …

International Sales Director Globo TV International With pressures on their programming budgets, buyers are being particularly cautious these days, and for distributors, having research that can demonstrate a show’s potential is key. It was that rationale that led Globo TV …

NEW YORK: Spike TV has given the greenlight to 13 episodes of the scripted half-hour comedy Blue Mountain State from Lionsgate and Varsity Pictures’ Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter-Bridgett. The series, slated for a summer premiere, is executive produced by Robbins and Sumpter …

MONTREAL: Distraction’s slate for MIPTV includes the scripted format The Parents from La Presse Tele. The Parents centers on a mother and father of three rebellious boys aged 8, 12 and 14. The president of La Presse Tele, Andre Provencher, …

MUNICH: Studio100 Media has appointed Peter Kleinschmidt as its director of marketing, licensing and merchandising. Kleinschmidt will be working across a portfolio that includes brands such as Vicky the Vicking, Maya the Bee, Dive Olly Dive! and The House of …

MIAMI: Endemol Spain has inked a deal to produce adaptations of Telemundo’s top shows, such as Pasión de Gavilanes, Victoria, Dame Chocolate, Sin Senos No Hay Paraíso and El Cuerpo del Deseo, for Spanish broadcasters. As part of the co-production alliance, international distribution of the Spanish adaptations …

NEW YORK: Net revenues at 4Kids Entertainment for 2008 were up 14.6 percent to $63.7 million, but the company’s loss widened from $23.3 million in 2007 to $36.8 million. In the fourth quarter, meanwhile, revenues fell to $14.3 million from …

ENCINO: The hour-long documentary Becoming Barack: A Future President, which focuses on the early life and career of U.S. president Barack Obama, has been added to the catalogue of Solid Entertainment. The doc includes a never-before-seen interview with the current …