Top Stories

LONDON: Cineflix Studios has hired Nick Witkowski, a founder of Alchemy, to work with the company in a consultant role on international financing and sales for scripted programming. He reports to Glen Salzman, Cineflix’s CEO. Witkowski will be based in …

LOS ANGELES: Lucy Liu has joined the cast of the upcoming Lifetime Television original mini-series event Marry Me, which tells of a woman’s journey to find her Prince Charming. Liu (Ally McBeal, Charlie’s Angels) stars as Rae Ann Carter, a …

SEATTLE: Amazon.com has set up a business that will focus on discovering new talent and developing feature films, with a first-look deal in place with Warner Bros. Pictures. Amazon Studios is inviting filmmakers and screenwriters around the world to submit …

NORWALK: A raft of new agreements have been signed by CABLEready, which inked deals with Foxtel, NBC Latin America, Discovery Latin America and Televisio de Catalunya, among others. Foxtel in Australia went for Inside the Actors Studio, while NBC Latin America …

LIBERTYVILLE: Motorola Mobility has released new research indicating that consumers prefer subscription TV services—cable, satellite or online—over free-to-air platforms, "even in markets where free programming is more readily available." The Global 2010 Media Engagement Barometer surveyed the video-consumption habits of …

LONDON/NEW YORK/BANGLORE: Babelgum and PRSNL Pictures are to release the fictional documentary feature Dark Fibre as an episodic series online and for mobile ahead of its theatrical debut. Dark Fibre is directed and produced by Jamie King and Peter Mann. …

CINCINNATI: The E.W. Scripps Company has reached an agreement to extend the affiliation of six of its stations with ABC through January 31, 2015. The stations that have renewed their ABC affiliation are WXYZ (Detroit), KNXV (Phoenix), WFTS (Tampa), WEWS (Cleveland), WMAR …

AMSTERDAM: Film1, Chellomedia’s Dutch premium movie service, has launched an SVOD service on cable operator Ziggo. Film1 On Demand providers customers of the Netherlands’ largest cable network access to approximately 100 titles of current and classic movies at no additional cost …

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN: A number of senior appointments have been made to the teams at Endemol Nordic, which has just scored a deal for Big Brother to go back on air in Sweden after being gone from the territory for five years. …

SAN FRANCISCO: Factual and documentary producer Hoff Productions has promoted Rex Vigil to director of development. Vigil has been with Hoff Productions since 2004, starting as a development coordinator. Since 2008, he has served as manager of development, leading efforts …