Top Stories

LOS ANGELES: Saban Capital Group is setting aside more than $500 million for the acquisition of a portfolio of properties to kickstart its newly formed Saban Brands venture, which will be led by former Fox L&M chief Elie Dekel as president. Saban …

LONDON: MTV Networks International (MTVNI) has shored up deals across Asia, Europe and Latin America for live-action programming from its Nickelodeon catalogue. Albania’s Digit-Alb took on iCarly and True Jackson. iCarly also went to SMG in China, 365 Media in Iceland, …

NEW YORK: On the development slate for Comedy Central’s 2010-11 season are a range of projects that cover genres such as animation, sketch/variety and scripted narrative. Series in production include Futurama, which returns for a new season on June 24; …

LUXEMBOURG: On the heels of an ad recovery in its key Western European markets, RTL Group more than doubled its EBITA in the first quarter, to 197 million euros, on revenues that were up 10.1 percent to 1.3 billion euros. …

NEW YORK: David Ward, Todd Field, Lawrence O’Donnell and Todd Holland are among the creative talent that is set to develop original scripted drama and comedy programming for the new premium entertainment channel EPIX. Ward (The Sting) and O’Donnell (The …

NEW YORK: Driven in part by the success of Avatar, News Corporation beat analysts’ estimates with its third-quarter results, delivering total revenues of $8.8 billion, a 19-percent gain, and a net income of $839 million. The company reported total segment operating …

CINCINNATI/MUMBAI: NDTV Group and Scripps Networks Interactive have called off a deal that would have given the U.S.-based channels operator a majority interest in the English-language Indian lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times. The deal would have seen Scripps taking a 69-percent stake …

LONDON: Universal Networks International (UNI) has introduced a new look, along with other enhanced elements, for its flagship entertainment offering Universal Channel in Russia, the Baltics and CIS as well as in Poland and Romania. The refresh is part of …

TORONTO: Shaftesbury Films has expanded its senior management team with the addition of two new roles, hiring former Discovery Networks International executive Katherine Wolfgang and former CCI Entertainment exec Gord McIlquham to fill the newly created posts. Wolfgang is to …

HAMILTON: Releasing its first-quarter results today—with revenues up 5 percent to $143.6 million but a wider net loss of $42.3 million—Central European Media Enterprises (CME) is expecting a better second half, forecasting single-digit ad growth in the region. Announcing the …