Top Stories

SILVER SPRING: Former FOX entertainment chief Peter Liguori is joining Discovery Communications as COO in January, replacing Mark Hollinger, who was recently named president and CEO of Discovery Networks International. Liguori takes up his new post on January 19, 2010, …

LORETO: Rainbow S.p.A. has closed a new round of deals for the fourth season of its hit Winx Club series, bringing the total number of countries that will air the latest installment to 100.  Cartoon Network in Australia and Asia, …

  LOS ANGELES: The lives of the wives and girlfriends of some of the most elite basketball players in the NBA are put into the spotlight in the new VH1 original series Basketball Wives. The 8×30-minute series heads into production …

PAWTUCKET/NEW YORK: Hasbro has clinched a ten-year deal with Sesame Workshop, beginning in 2011, to manufacture and market toys and games based on Sesame Street. Hasbro is set to roll out products featuring the likes of Elmo, Big Bird, Abby …

NEW YORK: Media Mundi has been appointed as HIT Entertainment’s TV broadcast agent in Brazil, where it has already secured distribution for Barney & Friends, Angelina Ballerina and Thomas & Friends on pubcaster TV Brasil. As part of the multi-year …

  NORWALK: CABLEready has acquired the exclusive international distribution rights to the luxury travel series Wine Portfolio, produced by Re:Source Media. The 10×30-minute HD showcases wine-producing regions, which are also known for world-class food-and-wine consumption. Wine Portfolio is hosted by …

LONDON: BBC Worldwide Channels has upped John Taite to VP of programming for EMEA, along with creating three new heads of scheduling roles in the region. Taite, formerly the director of programming, has overseen the creation and success of 12 …

TORONTO: Kristin Lecour has been upped from the role of licensing manager at CCI Entertainment to serve as director of licensing and marketing for the company. Lecour will play a key role in the company’s licensing and overall marketing activity, …

NEW YORK: Leading U.S. Hispanic broadcaster Univision has announced the launch of a new production division, Univision Studios, which will be led by Luis Fernandez, who recently resigned as president of Spanish pubcaster RTVE.   Based in Miami, Univision Studios …

CAMBRIDGE: Brightcove has announced a host of new customers in Japan, including the country’s largest e-commerce operator, Rakuten, as well as Tokyo Metropolitan Television, which focuses on happenings in the city of Tokyo, and the regional broadcasters Television Osaka and Shizuoka …