Top Stories

LOS ANGELES: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authority, in conjunction with U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has announced a significant crackdown on Internet piracy, shutting down nine websites that offered unauthorized first-run movies …

NEW YORK/LONDON: Starting today, a fully localized Croatian feed of HISTORY channel will be available on B-Net. In Central and Eastern Europe, HISTORY and HISTORY HD already operate in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia …

MADRID: Antena 3 has commissioned ITV Studios Spain to produce a local version of entertainment reality show May the Best House Win, entitled Mi Casa es la Mejor. The hour-long episodes will air on Antena 3 in a 4 p.m. time …

TORONTO: The world premiere of the Family Channel original movie Vacation with Derek, from Shaftesbury Films, delivered more than 900,000 viewers over the age of 2. The premiere on June 25 at 8 p.m. also ranked as the number one …

LONDON: In a speech yesterday, Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC, announced that the pubcaster will reveal how much it pays its on-air talent and said that senior management will take a 8.3-percent paycut over the next two years. …

TORONTO/NEW YORK: In this video interview, Marina Cordoni, the head of sales and business development for theatrical and TV movies at Breakthrough Entertainment, discusses the company’s film slate, while Nat Abraham, head of distribution, talks about the successes in the …

NEW YORK: Billionaire financier Carl Icahn has failed to gain a controlling interest in Lionsgate, with the conclusion of his tender offer leaving him with a 33.9 percent stake—up from just under 20 percent a few months ago. The tender offer …

MUNICH/LONDON: Tele München Group and Gate Television & Film Productions have started work on the mini-series Rosamunde Pilcher’s Shades of Love, a sequel to the bestselling adaptation September. Filming will take place in two of Scotland’s oldest estates. Charles Dance …

LOS ANGELES: Ted Prince Jr. has been promoted to the newly created role of chief operating officer for National Geographic Global Media (NGGM), expanding his responsibilities to include all media platforms. He will further be responsible for the digital growth …

NEW YORK: DIRECTV is rolling out a suite of three 3D channels in conjunction with Panasonic, producer of the VIERA HD 3D TV sets. DIRECTV customers can now access n3D, a linear channel dedicated exclusively to 3D programming, such as Guitar Center Sessions …