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UNIVERSAL CITY: The movie-on-demand subscription offering PictureBox has brought its PictureBox Player streaming service for Internet-connected devices to the U.K. and Ireland. The new service is available on Samsung Smart TVs. PictureBox Player is also available on the iPad and …

LOS ANGELES: Footprint Media Holdings is set to unveil the first 24-hour 3D family-entertainment channel, HIGHTV 3D, at the opening cocktail at MIPTV on April 4. The channel will be the first of its kind. It features a mix of entertainment, …

LOS ANGELES: Warner Bros. has officially fired Charlie Sheen from the CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, effective immediately. In a letter to Sheen’s attorney Martin Singer, Warner Bros. recounted events over the past few years, which the studio …

LOS ANGELES: Fox LOOK has signed deals for more than 400 hours of content from FOX and Hasbro for broadcast in a number of international markets. A local production of Hasbro Studios’ Big Family Game Night has been optioned by …

LONDON: Dish Network is launching BabyTV in Mandarin and will include the channel in its Chinese Basic Pack. The preschool channel, which is already offered in English and Spanish on the U.S. pay-TV platform, features short-form episodes to encourage early …

SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube has acquired video producer Next New Networks, along with launching YouTube Next, a unit geared toward accelerating video creation and monetization. Next New Networks has built its business around original web video programming, attracting upward of 2 …

LOS ANGELES: The keynote address at the 2011 PromaxBDA conference, taking place June 28 to 30 in New York City, will be delivered by Al Gore, former U.S. VP and chairman and co-founder of Current Media. Gore founded Current Media …

LOS ANGELES: MarVista Entertainment has landed a deal with Lagardère Active for the exclusive pay- and free-TV rights to 40 episodes of Power Rangers: Samurai, to air in France on kids’ TV channels Canal J and Gulli. The half-hour show, …

NEW YORK: The summer schedule of ABC Family has been expanded to feature three nights of original programming, with a full slate that includes four new series, three returning hits as well as original and acquired movies. Among the originals slated …

NEW YORK: After taking a hit before the economic crisis, movie rentals have since rebounded, according to a new PwC report. According to The Speed of Life, renting is again the preferred method of movie consumption. The report indicates that …