World Screen

LOS ANGELES/DALLAS, May 16: HDNet will produce and finance 15 new high-definition episodes of the half-hour improv comedy series Sports Action Team for premiere this fall. MGM will handle the exclusive worldwide television distribution of the series. Produced by Chicago-based …

LONDON, May 16: Distraction’s newest deal with Magnolia is set to bring the format Talk of the Town, originally produced in France, to Italy. Talk of the Town (Toute le monde en Parle), taken on by Magnolia in Italy, is …

LONDON/BIEL, May 16: MTV Europe and Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch have partnered for the user-generated viewer-led series MTV’s Best. Show. Ever., which offers viewers the opportunity to showcase unusual and impressive talents. The series, which launches on July 14 and …

LONDON, May 16: North One Television, part of the U.K.-based production group All3Media, has re-branded its integrated commercial production and digital distribution arm as N.ONE. The creation of N.ONE resulted from North One Television’s efforts to seek out new models …

LOS ANGELES, May 16: HBO will receive a Gold Nymph Award at the opening ceremony of the 47th annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Sunday, June 10, with HBO Films president Colin Callender accepting the award on the network’s behalf. “We …

HONG KONG/TAIWAN, May 16: STAR has reached a deal with Hong Kong-based Artificial Life—a provider of mobile 3G technology, games and applications—to jointly develop and distribute mobile games and accessories across Asia that will be based on two popular youth …

PARIS, May 16: Lagardère  Active has merged two divisions— Lagardère Networks International (LNI) and Lagardère Images International (LII)—to form Lagardère Television International (LTI). Lagardère Networks International (LNI) manages the international distribution of branded thematic television channels of Lagardère Active, AB …

NEW YORK, May 16: HBO, in conjunction with the interactive advertising agency Deep Focus, has teamed up with MySpace and other online video-sharing sites to make the pilot episode of its new prime-time comedy series Flight of the Conchords available …

NEW YORK, May 16: At Telemundo’s Upfront presentation at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall last night, the broadcaster’s president, Don Browne, conceded that the network’s ratings were not where he wanted them to be, but promised to grow …

LONDON, May 16: Publisher Thomson Corp. has reached a deal to buy Reuters in a $17.2 billion deal to create the world’s leading provider of financial news and data. The deal is still pending regulatory clearance and shareholder approval, and …