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LOS ANGELES: Arthur Schweitzer, who spent several years at Reed MIDEM’s television division, has been named senior consultant and liaison for NATPE 2011, set for January 24 to 26 in Miami. Schweitzer will work to bolster attendance from Europe, working with joins …

TORONTO/LOS ANGELES/LONDON: E1 Entertainment’s new police drama Rookie Blue opened to more than 7.3 million viewers on ABC on Friday night. Simultaneously premiering on Global in Canada, the episode delivered more than 9 million North American viewers, E1 said. It was ABC’s …

PALISADES PARK: Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc. (AHDI) has closed several new international deals on a package of features produced for IMAX and other giant-screen theaters. The “36 Films Produced for IMAX and Other Giant Screen Theatres" package includes The Living Sea, Dolphins, …

ISTANBUL: Forbidden Love achieved a 73.7-percent audience share for Kanal D in Turkey last week, according to the telenovela’s format distributor, Global Agency. The Turkish novela has been attracting huge audiences since its premiere two years ago. The finale aired on Thursday night …

NEW YORK: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports that the entertainment, media and communications sector continues to draw interest from private-equity funds and forecasts further acquisitions and investments. In its latest report on M&A activity, PwC notes that with high-profile acquisitions over the past …

STAMFORD: The U.S. taking on Algeria in the World Cup on Wednesday gave ESPN its highest ratings ever for a soccer match, delivering some 6.2 million viewers in its 10 a.m. to noon EST broadcast. The game also ranked as the highest-rated …

BRUSSELS: The European Commission is asking 12 member states, including Portugal, Poland and Greece, to update their broadcasting rules to comply with the Audiovisual Media Service (AVMS) Directive, which was to have been implemented by the end of 2009. The …

LONDON: The BBC’s IPTV venture with Arqiva, BT, Channel 4, Five, ITV and Talk Talk has been approved by the pubcaster’s governing body, with some conditions. BBC Trust has given the go-ahead to Canvas—which intends to develop and promote a common …

BURBANK: Brown Bag Films in Ireland has kicked off production on Doc McStuffins, an animated series set to premiere on the upcoming Disney Junior preschool blocks and channels worldwide. The series centers on six-year-old Dottie "Doc" McStuffins, who communicates with …

NEW YORK: Crown Media Holdings has announced new distribution milestones for two of its networks, with Hallmark Movie now available to 35.8 million subs and Hallmark HD in 10 million homes. Hallmark Movie Channel, billed as the fastest growing cable network …