World Screen

LONDON/NEW YORK, June 22: José María Aznar, the president of Spain from 1996 to 2004, has joined News Corporation’s board of directors. The addition of Aznar increases the number of directors to 14. News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch …

LONDON, June 22: Channel 4 has picked up the rights to two of the most buzzed-about shows from the L.A. Screenings this year: Sony Pictures Television International’s Kidnapped and Runaway. Channel 4 and E4 will air both shows in 2007. …

LOS ANGELES, June 22: The highly touted bidding frenzy that was expected around the Univision sale has not materialized, according to reports, with Haim Saban’s consortium submitting an offer that was deemed too low and three equity firms dropping out …

LONDON, June 22: Private equity group Apax Partners, parent company of HIT Entertainment, is mulling a £1-billion bid for Telefónica’s 75-percent stake in Endemol, British press reports indicate. Apax may team up with venture capitalists to acquire the Netherlands-based format …

CULVER CITY, June 21: George Chien has been upped to executive director of international networks at Sony Pictures Television International, tasked with supporting the company’s Asian networks. Based in Culver City, Chien reports to Martha Eberts, the SVP of international …

LONDON/LOS ANGELES, June 21: FremantleMedia North America has upped Julie Uribe to senior VP of development, and has tapped James Sunderland from Granada in the U.K. to serve as executive producer. Uribe, previously development VP, will oversee all unscripted programming …

AMSTERDAM, June 20: Ahead of the Sunny Side of the Doc documentary market, Off the Fence has confirmed the sale of a number of nature documentaries. France 5 has acquired the rights to Appalachia—The Endless Forest and Death Valley, both …

LOS ANGELES, June 21: The gay/lesbian network programming service here! is currently developing a new television movie, In the Name of Love, co-written by Chastity Bono and Garth Belcon. The film tells the tale of an influential Hollywood lesbian who …

TORONTO, June 21: Canada’s Cuppa Coffee Studios is working with E! Entertainment Television in the U.S. on a stop-frame animation tentatively titled Starveillance. Created by Eric Fogel, the creator of Celebrity Deathmatch, the show promises a unique look at celebrities. …

VANCOUVER, June 21: Cartoon Network has scooped up Nerd Corps’ Storm Hawks for the U.S., U.K., France and Latin America, with MGM taking North American merchandising rights and select TV and video rights and Spin Master coming on board as …