Top Stories

NEW YORK: At its annual Upfront presentation, Cartoon Network announced a number of firsts for the channel, including its foray into the broadcast awards arena with Cartoon Network’s Hall of Game. Premiering in early 2011, Cartoon Network’s Hall of Game …

TORONTO: Canwest Broadcasting has signed a deal with NBC Universal to produce a Canadian version of the hit show Top Chef, teaming up with Insight Productions on the development of the local adaptation. Top Chef is the number one food show …

HONG KONG: By 2014, 446 million homes in the Asia Pacific will be receiving pay TV, according to the Asia Pacific Pay-TV & Broadband Markets 2010 report from Media Partners Asia, which forecasts rising penetration rates, digitization, increased value-added services …

NEW DELHI: Media Partners Asia (MPA) has released an upbeat new report on India’s pay-TV market, which is expected to deliver revenues of $12.1 billion by 2014 and $18.5 billion by 2020, up from $6.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March …

LONDON: A new agreement extends Tim Hincks’s tenure as CEO of Endemol UK to December 2014. Hincks took on the role of CEO of Endemol UK in January 2008. Under his leadership, the business has grown each year, diversifying across …

LONDON: Power has been honored by the queen of England with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, marking the U.K. indie’s achievements in international sales and production over the last three years. The award recognizes the achievements of …

BURBANK: Turbine, the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America, is now under the ownership of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. Turbine has created some of the most well-known gaming brands on the Internet, including Dungeons & Dragons Online, …

LONDON: FremantleMedia has bought out the remaining 25-percent stake in Danish production outfit Blu, in which it now holds 100-percent ownership. FremantleMedia has been a majority share holder since 2005. Blu was founded by Henrik Hancke Nielsen, who is now …

BEVERLY HILLS: Starz has tapped two former IMG Global Media executives, Carmi Zlotnik and John Penney, for senior posts at the company, reporting to president and CEO Chris Albrecht. Zlotnik, as managing director of Starz Media, will manage production of …

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER: Lionsgate is urging its shareholders to reject Carl Icahn’s latest offer, which upped the per-share purchase price from $6 to $7. The Lionsgate board has unanimously rejected the most recent Icahn offer as "financially inadequate, opportunistic and coercive and …