World Screen

PARIS, October 4: With the export of French productions on the rise, 53 production and distribution firms from France will be participating under the TV France International umbrella at MIPCOM next week. Sales and presales of French television productions reached …

LONDON, October 4: British factual entertainment producer Amaze TV and Dutch-based producer D&D Media Group are aligning to build an as-yet-unnamed global media group, with the backing of private-equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, which has made a “substantial investment” in …

NEW YORK, October 4: Comedy Central has picked up the new sketch and variety show Important Things with Demetri Martin, which is tentatively scheduled to premiere during the second half of 2008. Important Things with Demetri Martin is the second …

LONDON, October 4: 2waytraffic is launching a new venture with David Briggs, Colman Hutchinson and Steve Springford, the key production executives responsible for the British version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The venture, The Usual Suspects, will devise, …

ATLANTA, October 4: Turner Broadcasting System has received formal approval from the Comision Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia in Argentina for the acquisition of seven Latin American pay-TV networks from Claxson. The new channels will be operated by TBS …

CULVER CITY, October 4: Sony Pictures Entertainment’s chairman and CEO, Michael Lynton, has extended his contract at the studio to 2012. Lynton joined Sony Pictures in January 2004. Under the leadership of Lynton and co-chairman Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures broke …

WASHINGTON, October 4: Citing new research from the Institute for Policy Innovation, Jeff Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC Universal, said at a summit in Washington D.C. yesterday that intellectual property owners are “losing the battle” against copyright infringement. …

SYDNEY, October 3: BBC One has renewed the Australian medical drama All Saints, distributed by Southern Star, for a further 43 hours that will air in early 2008. Produced by Seven Network in Australia, the fifth season of All Saints …

HILVERSUM, October 3: Endemol International has unveiled plans to set up a new company in the Middle East, to be headed up by managing director Ziad Kebbi and creative director Dany Karam. Scheduled to officially open for business in November, …

ATLANTA, October 3: Jennifer Davidson has been promoted to the position of senior VP of programming and scheduling at Cartoon Network from her previous role as VP of marketing, ad trade, consumer products trade and strategic operations for Cartoon Network …