World Screen

WASHINGTON: Melina Gerosa Bellows takes on the expanded role of chief creative officer for National Geographic Kids and Family, in addition to her current responsibilities as executive VP of children’s publishing. Bellows oversees the children’s book division and serves as …

TORONTO: Shaftesbury Films has begun production on the fourth season of Murdoch Mysteries, for broadcast on Canada’s Citytv and the U.K.’s Alibi in early 2011. Production on the period piece is set to continue until early November in and around Toronto …

LOS ANGELES: David Madden has been upped from executive VP of Fox Television Studios (FtvS) to president, replacing Emiliano Calemzuk, who resigned last week to become CEO of Shine Group Americas. FtvS’s current cable hits include White Collar and Burn …

TORONTO: A range of lifestyle programming, totaling more than 100 hours, from Portfolio International has been picked up by Ares Media for its newly launched Turkish satellite service Karamel TV. The deal includes Chef At Home, featuring Michael Smith; It’s …

NEW YORK: The Peanuts animated holiday specials, including the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas, will continue to air on ABC, via a new five-year deal. The specials are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, the newly formed joint venture between Iconix Brand Group …

NEW YORK: The Vanilla Ice Project is a new series for DIY Network that focuses on the eponymous singer’s passion for home renovation. Vanilla Ice rose to fame with his hit Ice, Ice Baby. He has now turned his focus on …

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast has released the results of its second annual “TV Pulse Survey,” indicating 62 percent of consumers have watched prime-time TV series through technologies that include VOD, DVR and the Internet. "Time-shifting has hit the mainstream and is changing …

NEW YORK: Four series from AETN International’s catalogue are headed to Channel Seven in Australia: Pawn Stars, Life After People, WWII Lost Films and Parking Wars. Channel Seven also picked up the format rights for Pawn Stars. The deal was …

BURBANK: Wipeout, a competition series that features the world’s largest extreme obstacle course, has been picked up for a fourth season by ABC. Hosts John Anderson, John Henson and co-host Jill Wagner return for the new season. The latest U.S. …

STOCKHOLM: Viasat Broadcasting’s premium channels bouquet TV1000 will have access to the exclusive pay-TV rights in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland to current and upcoming feature films from NBC Universal International Television Distribution. Highlights of the multi-year licensing deal include …