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LONDON: Increasing its shares by a further 51 percent, FremantleMedia is now a majority holder in the casual video games company Ludia. The purchase will bring FremantleMedia’s share in Ludia to 80 percent. The deal is expected to close before …

SYDNEY: ABC1 is to launch a new weekly sports quiz show, The Trophy Room, debuting December 8. The half-hour prime-time series will feature a range of celebrity sports heroes, comedians and performers. The show features sports chat and trivia, combined …

ISTANBUL: The Island, produced by Television Enterprises (TVE) and sold by Global Agency, made its debut on Mega TV in Greece, with its first episode scoring an average market share of 61.7 percent, with a peak of 73 percent for …

BURBANK: Following on the success of Dancing with the Stars, ABC has slated a new celebrity competition series from BBC Worldwide Productions, Skating with the Stars. The show will watch as celebrities are paired up with world-class ice skaters. The couples …

SILVER SPRING: Programming about action sports, travel and "toys for big boys" are on the slate for Discovery HD in 2011. ON THE RECORD: BOB SCANLON, VP, PRODUCTION How do you schedule the channel from morning through late night, Monday …

LONDON: MTV Networks International (MTVNI) has landed agreements for Nickelodeon preschool programming in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, including the launch of the first ever Nick Jr. branded block worldwide. Starting in November, Nickelodeon animated preschool programming will be localized for broadcast …

BURBANK: The science-fiction series V is returning to ABC for a second season on January 4 at 9 p.m. The series about the world’s first alien encounter was television’s number one new drama during the ’09-10 season in the adult …

LONDON: A continuing recovery in the global ad market has prompted ZenithOptimedia to upgrade its growth forecast for this year to 4.8 percent from 3.5 percent, and for 2011 to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent, while a 5.4-percent increase is …

NEW YORK: Coal, a new series from Thom Beers’ Original Productions that looks into the lives of West Virginia coal miners, will make its way to Spike TV in April 2011. Spike has ordered up 10 hour-long episodes, which will …

NEW YORK: Third quarter profits at NBC Universal fell 15 percent to $625 million, on revenues that were stable at $4.07 billion. Announcing the results, GE noted, however, that revenue and operating profit were favorable compared to the year-ago period after adjusting …