Top Stories

EL SEGUNDO: DIRECTV has given the boot to the Comcast-owned channel G4, which caters to young men, claiming that interest in the network is too small to justify carriage. In September, DIRECTV warned Comcast that it was going to drop …

TORONTO: E! Entertainment Television is going back on the air in Canada, thanks to an agreement between CTV and Comcast International Media Group (CIMG). Formerly known as Star!, the new Canadian E! channel launches November 29 and will be immediately …

WEST HOLLYWOOD: The Travel Channel is set to debut the action docuseries First Ascent, which it acquired from Shankly International Distribution, on November 4. The 6×30-minute series is a co-production with National Geographic International and Sender Films. The show watches …

LONDON/MUMBAI: A new deal between BBC Worldwide and India’s Reliance Big Entertainment sees the two outfits partnering on three motion pictures, for both co-production and distribution. The first theatrical feature to be co-produced from the new partnership will be the 3D …

VAN NUYS: A new trial has been ordered in the long-running legal battle between MGA Entertainment and Mattel over the Bratz doll, with the $100 million in damages awarded to Mattel being vacated by a California judge. The 2008 ruling granted …

LONDON: Food Network continues to expand its reach across EMEA with new launches in Portugal and the Netherlands. A deal with Vodafone Portugal bring Food Network into mainland Portugal, with viewers receiving the channel on Casa IPTV from this week. …

NEW YORK: The New York City-based awards ceremony Cinema Eye Honors has struck a deal with Documentary Channel (DOC) that sees the 4th annual event being televised on DOC in late January 2011. In addition to the television broadcast, Documentary …

PREMIUM: The ABC Family network is doing nine original movies this year, says Tom Zappala, the executive VP of program acquisitions and scheduling for ABC Cable Networks Group. “Movies are still a big part of what we do,” he says. …

LOS ANGELES/ENGLEWOOD: DISH Network and Fox Networks were able to reach a wide-ranging distribution agreement, which returned FX, National Geographic Channel and 19 regional sports networks to the platform. The agreement ensures that DISH Network customers will continue to have …

BETHPAGE/LOS ANGELES: Fox and Cablevision have reached an agreement, ending a two-week blackout and returning programming to more than 3 million New York-area subscribers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The channels returning to Cablevision are Fox 5 (WNYW), …