World Screen

LONDON, September 18: Distraction is set to launch The Next Great Leader, a reality game show format from CBC, at MIPCOM. The Next Great Leader is a political debate competition format where young men and women share their ideas for …

ATLANTA, September 18: Cartoon Network has completed production on Ben 10: Race Against Time, a live-action TV movie based on its hit animated property that will air in November. Alex Winter (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) is the director for …

RIO DE JANEIRO, September 18: BBC Worldwide Americas has licensed more than a 100 hours of drama and natural history programming to Hallmark Latin America and U.S. Hispanic network Galavision. Hallmark Latin America has acquired a package of BBC Worldwide’s …

BOSTON/ARLINGTON, September 18: WGBH International and PBS have teamed up to unite their respective international television syndication and distribution activities into a single distribution service. This partnership will broaden the library of programs and films available to international broadcasters and …

LONDON/SEOUL, September 18: The History Channel has signed agreements with Gretech and Hanaro Telecom for the roll out of two new video-on-demand services in Korea. Both agreements were reached in association with JoongAng Broadcasting Corp. (JBC), which programs and operates …

SINGAPORE/BEIJING, September 18: Discovery Networks Asia, with the cooperation of Visa, the main Olympic sponsor, today premiered six short films shot in Olympic cities at the Wanda Cinema in Beijing, showcasing China’s top filmmaking talent. The short films are the …

LONDON/NEW YORK/WARSAW, September 18: MTV Networks International (MTVNI) will launch its first pan-European high-definition channel in 2008, featuring English-language music content and a daily morning kids’ programming block that will air shows from Nickelodeon. The HD channel will be operated …

SYDNEY: Private-equity firm Navis Media plans to acquire Beyond International in a deal that values the Australian production-and-distribution company at A$74.6 million ($62.5 million). The proposed takeover will be submitted to Beyond’s shareholders for approval in November. The company’s chief …

MADRID/LONDON, September 18: Apple has granted the Telefonica-owned mobile phone operator O2 the exclusive contract to sell the iPhone in the U.K., starting from November 9. It has not yet been announced on what terms O2 won the contract, according …

LOS ANGELES, September 18: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) will launch its first wholly-owned channel in the U.S., MGM HD, featuring classic and contemporary films in high definition, on DIRECTV this fall. The MGM channel is currently available in nearly 120 countries …