World Screen

LONDON, July 20: Five in the U.K. has secured the free-TV and digital terrestrial rights to The Nine, slated to launch on ABC this fall, from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Vanessa Brookman, Five’s controller of acquisitions, described the show …

VANCOUVER/NEWARK, July 20: IDT Entertainment, which is in the process of being sold to Liberty Media, has inked a deal to sell its 62-percent stake in Canadian CGI outfit Mainframe Entertainment to the parent company of Rainmaker Animation & Visual …

NEW YORK, July 20: Early next year, Sundance Channel will launch a weekly three-hour prime-time programming block serving up content on environmental issues. “Once in awhile forces converge and affect social change,” said Robert Redford, the channel’s founder. “For some, …

HONG KONG, July 20: CASBAA has joined forces with FIFA and Hong Kong Cable Television to initiate legal proceedings against a number of public venues for allegedly airing unlicensed pay-TV broadcasts of the World Cup. CASBAA, representing the interests of …

BURBANK, July 20: Smoke House, the new television and film production venture set up by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, has inked a long-term production and development agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television. Clooney and Heslov collaborated …

LONDON, July 20: BBC Two’s fall season unveiled today includes Tsunami—The Aftermath, a fictional drama set in Thailand that is based on first-hand research and interviews. "The 2004 Asian tsunami shocked and devastated the world, touching the lives of people …

BRUSSELS, July 20: The European Commission has announced investigations into the digital terrestrial rollouts in Italy and the German states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as an inquiry into the financing of Belgian pubcaster VRT. Regulators have given …

LOS ANGELES, July 20: Grupo Televisa has filed a lawsuit against Univision Communications over the rights to distribute its programming online in the U.S. According to published reports, Televisa is seeking a ruling from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge …

NEW YORK, July 19: Dana Laufer is joining HIT Entertainment as VP of promotions to lead efforts to develop and implement national promotional campaigns based on the company’s portfolio of preschool brands. She is responsible for maximizing cross-promotional opportunities across …

NEW YORK, July 19: Classic Media has named Andrew Perlman as VP of digital media to manage the mobile and online content distribution strategy for the company’s 3,000-plus titles. Perlman reports to Classic Media’s CEO, Eric Ellenbogen. He will manage …