World Screen

LONDON, October 6: In the wake of the call-in scandals in the U.K. last year, the BBC has launched a new technical department that will oversee all of its telephony-related interactive events. The Interactive Technical Advice and Contracts Unit (ITACU) …

LUXEMBOURG, October 6: Bertelsmann is said to have given RTL Group’s management the go-ahead to pursue an acquisition of ITV, reports indicate. According to the Guardian, Bertelsmann’s controlling shareholders, the Mohn family, have set aside £1 billion for European acquisitions, …

CANNES, October 6: Creativity is the theme for this year’s opening cocktail party at MIPCOM, and a selection of participants will become directors for the evening, capturing all the action in a set of films that will be shown on …

LOS ANGELES, October 6: HBO’s acclaimed comedy Entourage has received a pickup for a sixth season, which will be broadcast in 2009. Production on the sixth season of the show, created by Doug Ellin, begins early next year for a …

LONDON, October 6: The African pay-TV offering GTV has a wide shopping remit at MIPCOM, with a range of genres, including drama, movies, factual, kids and lifestyle, needed to stock its seven channels. GTV will be on the hunt for …

STOCKHOLM, October 6: Modern Times Group has launched several new localized premium sports channels in Sweden and Norway, and has renewed its rights to the Formula One and UEFA Champions League. Viasat Sport, Viasat Football and Viasat Motor channels have …

TEL AVIV/NEW YORK, October 6: The Biography Channel (BIO) has been added to the lineup of cable operator HOT in Israel, where the channel has been airing since November 2005 on the YES satellite platform. BIO, which features real stories …

MUNICH, October 6: Autentic, a new joint venture between Beta Film and Patrick Hoerl, the former CEO of Discovery Germany, will focus on the sales and acquisition of documentaries, as well as co-productions with international partners. Autentic’s portfolio will feature …

PHILADELPHIA/HOLLYWOOD/NEW YORK, October 6: PBS KIDS Sprout will launch Pajanimals, the newest group of puppet characters from The Jim Henson Company, during the channel’s nighttime block, The Good Night Show. The exclusive, short-form, live-action musical series, which will debut on …

LONDON, October 6: KidsCo, the global kids’ network owned by NBC Universal, Cookie Jar Group and Corus Entertainment, is adding the hit Australian property The Wiggles to its Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan African feeds, as of this November. Since 1991, …