Top Stories

LOS ANGELES: Kyle Martino, a former player on the U.S. National Team, has joined Fox Soccer Channel as the host of Soccer Talk Live, a new original series launching August 16. The hour-long studio show will air every Monday from …

NEW YORK: Karen O’Hara has been promoted to the VP of original movies for Syfy, to bolster the popular Saturday strand home to films such Dinoshark, Lake Placid 3, Carny and Meteor Storm. O’Hara will oversee the development and production …

BURBANK/LONDON: Warner Bros. is teaming with Shed Media management to take the British production and distribution outfit private in a deal that values the company at about £99.9 million. The 115 pence per share offer reflects a 37.7-percent premium on …

SYDNEY: Seven Network is on board for its own version of the Emmy-winning CBS series The Amazing Race, via a deal with Disney Media Distribution Asia Pacific. The Australian version will be shot in locations around the world, with casting currently …

HYDERABAD: DQE has inked a co-financing and production pact with Nick India for a local kids’ animated series called Keymon Ache. The 26×30-minute HD series for the Viacom18-operated kids’ network focuses on an ordinary 9-year old boy and his set …

LOS ANGELES: FOX’s American Idol, which is in the midst of an overhaul following the exits of Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, has clinched a deal to bring Nigel Lythgoe back as an executive producer for the upcoming 10th anniversary season …

SHANGHAI: Tudou, a leading video-sharing site in China, has completed a $50 million Series E funding round that was led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. Temasek, the Singapore government’s investment arm, contributed $35 million of the new funding round, while $15 million …

NEW YORK: Citing improvements in the advertising market, Viacom reported strong growth in its second quarter, with profit up 52 percent. Viacom posted a profit of $420 million, up from $277 million a year earlier. Revenue was essentially flat at …

LONDON: This September, Virgin1 will be renamed Channel One, continuing to broadcast in the same slots on all platforms. The rebrand will officially take effect on September 3, with a new logo and overhaul of all on- and off-air branding. …

LONDON: Channel Five has secured an exclusive deal to acquire a range of new and continuing series and blockbuster films from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Channel Five picked up the exclusive terrestrial and digital rights to the third season …