Top Stories

WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Geographic Channels International has picked up the kids’ invention series Think Big from Breakthrough Entertainment, and will air the first two seasons on the network’s Turkish feed starting in October. Think Big follows top kid inventors, ages …

BARCELONA: Imira Entertainment has signed a deal with Spain’s Canal Sur for the children’s shows Planet Grabo and Corneil & Bernie. Canal Sur, part of Forta’s public broadcasting network, went for 26 13-minute episodes of Planet Grabo, aimed at 8- …

LOS ANGELES: Ahead of its one-year anniversary, Opus Distribution has notched up a number of deals around the world on its inaugural slate. Next Stop Murder, premiering on Lifetime Movie Network, has been sold to M6 in France, Dall’Angelo for …

TORONTO: Portfolio Entertainment has hired Louis Fournier as its new VP of sales and acquisitions, a newly created role. Fournier will set the multiplatform sales direction for the distribution arm Portfolio International, along with expanding the company’s acquired international distribution …

MONTEREY: SNL Kagan data indicates that the U.S. ad market is recovering, with revenues expected to rebound by 2.8 percent to $210.5 billion this year. This year’s gains will follow two consecutive years of ad revenue declines in the U.S. Mobile, …

HONG KONG: ITV Studios Global Entertainment is to launch the general-entertainment channel Granada TV on PCCW’s now TV in Hong Kong. Granada TV offers dramas, comedy, reality and talk and entertainment shows, drawing on the resources of the ITV Studios catalogue. Shows …

NEW YORK: AETN International has firmed up multiple sales and format options on the series Intervention, Obsessed and Hoarders. Intervention has been licensed to TV4 in Sweden and has been renewed by Canwest in Canada. AETN has secured a number …

LONDON: Cineflix International Distribution has sold more than 160 hours of programming to German broadcasters within the last six months. Discovery Networks Deutschland has taken on seasons one and two of Border Security. The program spotlights Australia’s front line in …

NEW YORK: The number of Hispanic TV homes will rise by some 3.07 percent to reach 13.35 million in the 2010-2011 season, according to Nielsen. Nielsen notes that 40 percent of new U.S. TV homes will be Hispanic households. The gains outpace …

SÃO PAULO: TV Globo has unveiled its new co-production, Lacos de Sangue, which was done in partnership with Portugal’s SIC. This marks the first time that SIC and TV Globo have signed a co-production agreement in the area of fiction. …