World Screen

NEW YORK, October 1: SCI FI Channel has given the go-ahead for production on RelicQuest, a factual action-and-adventure series hosted by British documentary filmmaker Bruce Burgess. SCI FI has made a six-episode commitment to the show for premiere in early …

BUENOS AIRES, October 1: Ana Maria Orozco, who starred in the original Colombian Betty la fea, has signed on for Dori Media Group’s Cupido: The Business of Love. The new telenovela tells the story of rival divorce lawyers, Victoria and …

SYDNEY, October 1: Beyond Distribution is coming to Cannes with more than 200 hours of new content, as well as 80 hours of returning shows. Programming on the Beyond slate is culled from such noted producers as Atlas Media Corp, …

BURBANK/TORONTO, October 1: Two original animated adventure series top Cookie Jar Entertainment’s catalogue for MIPCOM, as well as a Christmas special featuring the voice of William Shatner. Metajets is focused on a crew of young flying aces, competing on the …

SANTA MONICA, October 1: Lonnie Burstein has been upped to the role of executive VP of programming and production at Debmar-Mercury, after serving as senior VP in charge of research and new content. Burstein also served as a company consultant …

NEW YORK, October 1: David Stefanou has joined Oxygen Media from MTV in the U.K. to serve as VP of original programming, a newly created position. Stefanou will be responsible for Oxygen's current original productions, reporting to Amy Introcaso-Davis, the …

FRANKLIN, October 1: The Entertainment Rights-owned Big Idea, a producer of faith-based kids’ and family properties, has tapped Mike Nawrocki, the co-creator of VeggieTales, as its VP of development. In this newly created position, Nawrocki will oversee all creative and …

LONDON, September 30: By March 2009, ITV plc will have eliminated about 1,000 positions, it was revealed today, as the commercial broadcasting group works to lower costs. ITV’s cost-cutting initiative was first announced in September 2007 as the ITV Turnaround …

LOS ANGELES, September 30: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has rejected the Screen Actors Guild’s request to resume negotiations, citing the union’s refusal to budge on certain “threshold” issues. The request to resume negotiations was made …

BURBANK, September 30: The return of Desperate Housewives on Sunday won its time slot on ABC, beating out NBC Sunday Night Football and the return of Cold Case on CBS with 18.4 million viewers. Although down on the fourth season …