World Screen

TEL AVIV, December 10: Nir Erlich and Sefi Vigiser, the cofounders of the instant messaging platform ICQ, have announced the launch for alpha testers of Knocka TV, an Internet television network for both user-generated and professional content. Knocka (www.knocka.tv) is …

SINGAPORE, December 10: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has launched STAR Sports Mobile for the Asian market, which includes exclusive video highlights from Arsenal and Liverpool Football Club and STAR Sports original programming. STAR Sports Mobile content will feature exclusive goal …

LONDON, December 10: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has announced its lineup for NATPE this year, which includes a range of drama, cookery and music programming, highlighted by the new Australian drama series Satisfaction. Created by Australian producer Roger Simpson (Stingers, Halifax …

NEW YORK, December 10: VH1 will premiere !Viva Hollywood!, a new reality competition series that chronicles the search for America’s next Latin telenovela star. Hosted by actress and singer Maria Conchita Alonso and actor singer/song-writer Carlos Ponce, the new series …

BURBANK, December 10: Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation have joined forces on a new 26-episode, CG-animated comedy series, tentatively titled The Penguins of Madagascar, which is scheduled to premiere on Nickelodeon in early 2009. The new series, based on DreamWorks Animation’s …

STOCKHOLM, December 10: MTG’s Viasat Broadcasting and CDON have inked a three-year licensing deal with Nordisk Film for a selection of feature films and TV series that will be made available on their streaming VOD services in Scandinavia. Content will …

BOSTON, December 10: PBS’s British drama strand Masterpiece Theatre will introduce a new look, new scheduling, and the first of three new hosts, beginning in January 2008. Gillian Anderson, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress who starred as Lady Dedlock …

LUXEMBOURG, December 10: Gunter Thielen, the outgoing chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, and Ewald Walgenbach will step down from the Board of Directors of the RTL Group, effective December 31. Thielen has been a member of the RTL Group Board …

NEW YORK, December 10: Roger M. King, the CEO of King World and CBS Television Distribution, passed away this weekend after suffering a stroke on Friday. He was 63. King was the chief executive of CBS Television Distribution at the …

LOS ANGELES, December 10: Negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) broke down on Friday, as the strike enters its fifth week. The AMPTP said that it was “puzzled …