World Screen

NEW YORK, December 13: Sundance Channel has acquired 11 documentaries for premiere in the second season of The Green, the network’s weekly prime-time block of environmentally-themed programming. The films will begin to air on April 1, 2008, when The Green …

LONDON, December 13: Independent British television producer Impossible Pictures has acquired the Manchester-based animation company Firestep. The acquisition expands Impossible Pictures’ operations outside of London and will enable the company to explore new ways of approaching factual and drama, as …

CUPERTINO, December 13: Apple has announced that programming from Canadian networks and U.S. broadcasters, along with matches from the National Hockey League (NHL), are now available from the iTunes Store in Canada. iTunes customers can download programs for C$1.99 per …

LONDON, December 13: HIT Entertainment and Chellomedia have announced that JimJam, their new 24-hour preschool channel, is launching across Central Europe, adding an additional 1.4 million subscribers to its reach. JimJam will now be carried on UPC Broadband in Poland, …

LONDON/SYDNEY, December 13: Granada International has reached an exclusive long-term agreement to deliver its television programming to Australia’s Seven Network. Granada International, part of British commercial broadcaster ITV, has a catalogue that includes programs like Prime Suspect and A Touch …

LONDON, December 13: Virgin Media Television’s recently launched entertainment channel Virgin 1 has secured the exclusive premiere rights in the U.K. for the NBC drama series Chuck, from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Virgin 1 has announced that the series …

LONDON, December 13: Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and broadband service Tiscali TV have launched a new SVOD service, Screen Gems, featuring a range of classic American television series. Screen Gems will be rolling out as an on-demand service across …

HOLLYWOOD, December 13: Paramount Pictures has unveiled plans to make its new offering Jackass 2.5 the first-ever studio-backed feature to be streamed in its entirety online for free, ahead of its DVD release. The film will be made available for …

NEW DELHI, December 13: Turner International is teaming with Alva Brothers—the parent company of the New Delhi-based production house Miditech—to launch an entertainment channel in Hindi and other Indian languages. Turner and the Alva Brothers will each own 50 percent …

ENGLEWOOD/NEW YORK, December 13: Discovery Communications’ shareholders, Discovery Holding Company and Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership, are set to combine their stakes in the company and take it public, it was announced today. DHC owns about 67 percent of Discovery, with the …