Top Stories

NEW YORK: American Greetings Properties has plans to bring new Care Bears entertainment to the U.K., Italy, Latin America, the Middle East and Canada. Cartoon Network in the U.K. and Italy has picked up rights to broadcast the Care Bears’ …

HONG KONG: Celestial Pictures has inked a new exclusive five-year output deal with Media Asia Distribution to bring a range of titles to its Celestial Movies channel in Southeast Asia. The agreement, an expansion of a partnership that began in 2004, brings …

TEL AVIV: Armoza Formats’ game show The Bubble has been ordered for full seasons by SVT in Sweden and Holland’s BNN/NED3. SVT will launch a full 12-episode season of The Bubble in prime time on March 21, hosted by Rickard …

LOS ANGELES: Duccio Donati has been promoted to the position of executive VP of Comcast International Media Group (CIMG), expanding his remit to include the company’s channel brands outside of the U.S. Donati’s new role includes direct reports and oversight of E! …

SINGAPORE: Universal Networks International (UNI) has named Christopher Williams to the newly created post of VP of sales and commercial operations for Asia Pacific, effective immediately. Williams was part of the team that launched UNI in the Asia Pacific, having joined …

NEW YORK: Brandzoo has become the exclusive licensing agency to represent Fitz Roy Media’s entire portfolio, which includes the Heathcliff property, throughout the U.K. The three-year deal, which takes effect in March, includes other Fitz Roy properties such as Secret …

NEW YORK: The Pacific, a Playtone and DreamWorks production executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman, is to debut with part one on March 14 at 9 p.m. on HBO, while the further parts roll out on …

BURBANK: Bolstering its interactive entertainment portfolio, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group is taking a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, which develops video games for teens and adults. Founded in London in 2004, Rocksteady has developed a name for itself as the …

NEW YORK: News Corporation has reached a deal to pick up a 9.09 percent stake in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Middle Eastern media group Rotana for $70 million. As part of the transaction, News Corp. has an option to increase its stake to …

PARIS: French entertainment producer Mistral Production is taking its format distribution business in house, appointing Kirsten Calteau to a sales and acquisitions position. Mistral, led by Yves Launoy and Olivier Charpentier, has produced formats such as Intercities as well as a range of …