Top Stories

TEL-AVIV: Dori Media Group’s subsidiary Dori Media Spike (DMS) has signed a three-year extension of its agreement with Israeli cable platform HOT, while also selling a new series channel to YES. HOT will continue to carry the general-entertainment channels for …

NEW YORK: A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates that merger-and-acquisitions (M&A) activity in the U.S. media-and-entertainment business outpaced the overall deal market in 2010, with the increasing prominence of digital media setting the stage for even more M&As in 2011. The …

BUENOS AIRES: The Russian version of Telefe International’s Final Minute has launched on REN TV, while The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells will be released with its local treatment in the country on CTC on January 31. The original version …

SANTA MONICA: Paramount Digital Entertainment and MTV have struck a deal with digital media company Joost for the online ad-supported distribution rights to Jackass 3.5 in multiple territories. The latest installment in the successful Jackass franchise will debut on April …

LONDON: The UKTV male-skewing channel Dave has re-commissioned the hit stand-up show Dave’s One Night Stand for a second season of five hour-long episodes. The show watches as top comedians head back to their home towns for a special one-off …

LONDON: BSkyB has tapped Mark Sammon to serve as its head of factual entertainment, working across the platform’s portfolio of entertainment channels. Overseeing factual entertainment on Sky1, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts, Sammon reports to Stuart Murphy, director of …

GLASGOW: The Scottish Premier League (SPL) is exploring the launch of its own dedicated TV channel, ahead of the expiration of its current contract with ESPN and Sky Sports. The SPL inked a deal with Sky and ESPN in 2009 to televise its …

NEW YORK: Wedding Central has commissioned the one-hour special William & Kate: The Wedding of the Century, to be co-produced with Twofour Broadcast and co-funded and distributed by DRG. The special about the royal couple will premiere in April in …

HONG KONG: An investor group led by entrepreneur Charles Chan Kwok Keung that includes Providence Equity Partners has acquired Shaw Brothers’ 26-percent stake in TVB for an undisclosed sum. Chan, chairman of ITC Corp., and Providence are joined in the investor group by …

HONG KONG: Turner Broadcasting System International is teaming up with TNT to bring the highly anticipated Steven Spielberg series Falling Skies, which debuts in June, to the international market.    From DreamWorks Television, Falling Skies stars Noah Wyle (ER), along with …