World Screen

LONDON: Amanda Wilson and Elliot Johnson, former ITV Studios and Avalon executives, have formed the new indie production company Sharp Jack Media, specializing in entertainment, factual entertainment and quiz formats. The two will be joint managing directors of the U.K.-based …

LOS ANGELES: Expanding its "Characters Welcome" brand, USA Network has announced the pickup of two new scripted originals: A Legal Mind and Necessary Roughness. The two shows will premiere with 90-minute episodes, followed by 11 one-hour episodes. A Legal Mind stars Patrick …

LOS ANGELES: Liz Dolan is taking on the newly created post of chief marketing officer for Fox International Channels (FIC). Dolan, who most recently served as chief marketing officer for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and spent dearly a decade in …

NORWALK: CABLEready will be at NATPE with 400 new hours of programming, along with three existing series that are now available in HD. New content includes Rescue Helicopter, which follows the missions of three medical helicopters and the Helicopters of …

LUXEMBOURG CITY/LONDON: Amazon.com has inked a deal to take full ownership of LOVEFiLM International, a European online and DVD subscription service that has 1.6 million members. Amazon already owns a "significant minority shareholding" in LOVEFiLM, which operates in the U.K., Germany, …

NEW YORK: 4Kids Entertainment and Nihon Ad Systems have teamed up with Cinedigm Digital Cinema to bring the 3D animated movie Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time to digital theaters across North America in February and March. The movie was created …

LONDON: British satellite platform Sky says it is more than doubling its budget to develop news and entertainment content for its portfolio of channels. The existing seven-figure budget will increase by around 160 percent, for immediate investment in the British …

LONDON/SYDNEY: The latest broadcaster to adapt the Endemol format The Money Drop is Channel Nine in Australia, which has ordered a 10-part run from Southern Star Entertainment. The Money Drop has now been sold to 13 territories, including the U.S., …

TEL AVIV: The Armoza Formats game show Upgrade is to debut in Canada on channel V on February 1, with a commission for a full 14-episode season. The Canadian treatment is being produced by La Presse Tele. It will be …

NEW YORK: Verizon FiOS has added Television Dominicana, Supercanal and VeneMovies to its slate, bringing the number of Spanish-language networks it carries up to 34. "We’re excited to be able to add three more Spanish-language channels to our growing FiOS TV …