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NEW YORK: Nickelodeon, Toynami and the toy company UNKL have inked a licensing agreement to launch a line of SpongeBob SquarePants vinyl toys. The first series of toys will include SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs and The Flying Dutchman, and …

LONDON, July 21: The factual series Misbehaving Mums to Be has been picked up from DCD Rights to air across Europe and Australia. ABC in Australia, Discovery Networks Central and Eastern Europe, Nelonen in Finland, TV Norge in Norway and …

MADRID: The Zinkia Entertainment preschool animated series Pocoyo is to be added to the Nick Jr. weekend lineup in the U.S. beginning July 23, in addition to its current weekday broadcasts. Pocoyo is currently licensed to broadcasters in more than …

TORONTO: A second season of the live-action series My Babysitter’s a Vampire has been greenlit by Canada’s TELETOON to premiere in 2012. Production of the 13-episode season will begin in September. The series will be in both English and French, …

MIAMI: Discovery U.S. Hispanic has appointed Maria Badillo as director of programming and acquisitions for its Spanish-language networks, including Discovery en Español and Discovery Familia. Badillo will be responsible for developing the programming strategy for the Spanish-language networks, while also …

MONTEREY: An estimated 4 percent of U.S. households, representing 4.5 million homes, will have cut the cord on their subscription cable services in favor of over-the-top (OTT) alternatives by the end of 2011, reports SNL Kagan, which forecasts a continued …

CULVER CITY/LONDON: Sony Pictures Television’s period drama Pan Am, which launches as part of ABC’s fall schedule, is headed to a number of broadcasters in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The show, set around the iconic international airline at the …

PARIS: Miramax is set to take part in MIPCOM this year for the first time in the company’s history, with CEO Mike Lang to deliver a keynote address on the market’s opening day. This marks the studio’s inaugural outing at …

TEL AVIV: The Canadian network V has ordered a second season of the Armoza Formats game show Upgrade for its fall schedule. The first season of Upgrade aired on V from February to May, when it scored an average market …

LOS ANGELES: Shine International has had seven formats commissioned across Central and Eastern Europe in a new round of deals, including Polsat ordering a second season of Must Be the Music for Poland. Must Be the Music ranked as Polsat’s …