World Screen

NEW YORK: Viacom has picked up a minority interest in the Italian kids’ entertainment firm Rainbow—led by Iginio Straffi—following Nickelodeon’s partnership with the company on Winx Club. Last year, Nickelodeon has picked up the TV rights for Winx Club for the …

LOS ANGELES: This Monday’s broadcast of the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS marks its 6,000th episode. The long-running soap was created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell and is now led by their son …

PREMIUM: USA Network has ascended the cable-TV ratings heap in the U.S. with its strong lineup of original programming, which makes up 25 percent to 30 percent of the schedule, according to Jeff Wachtel. Wachtel, president of original programming at …

LONDON: Entertainment One (eOne) Family has received a commission for a second season of Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom from Nick Jr. for 2012. The Astley Baker Davies animation studio is starting production on 52 new episodes this summer. The …

LONDON: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) is set to open the event attraction Merlin: The Dragon Tower, based on the hit BBC One drama, at Warwick Castle in April. This marks the first-ever event inspired by the show. Warwick Castle is working closely …

MAINZ: A second season of the 3D HD animated series The Jungle Book is being co-produced by ZDF Enterprises and DQ Entertainment. ZDF Enterprises and ZDF are the chief co-production partner of the second season, which is budgeted at more …

NEW YORK: Ahead of the fifth edition of DISCOP Africa, taking place in Accra, Ghana, from February 9 to 11, World Screen speaks with a range of distributors about their plans for the market. World Screen‘s DISCOP Africa Preview includes …

LOS ANGELES: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are returning to Hulu following a new content partnership signed between the video site and Viacom. Current full episodes and clips of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The …

NEW YORK: Tim Duffy has been elevated to senior VP of original programming at Spike TV, having served in the VP role since 2005. Since his appointment as VP of original programming for Spike in April 2005, Duffy has spearheaded …

LONDON: Just 1.2 million pay-TV consumers canceled their subscriptions in favor of over-the-top video alternatives in 2010, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms Media, reflecting just 0.18 percent of the global pay-TV market. The number of cord-cutters globally …