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LOS ANGELES: The dramedy Californication has been picked up for a fourth season by Showtime, following a record-breaking third run. The series’ third-season premiere was up 57 percent on season two, and 12 new episodes are set for a 2010 …

CANNES: Saladin The Animated TV Series, a co-production venture between Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and Qatar-based Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), was unveiled last night at a special screening at the Carlton in Cannes.  The 26-episode 3-D animated series …

LONDON: The children’s channel KidsCo is to launch on satellite TV provider Indovision in Indonesia as part of its Kids Pack.   With shows such as The Wiggles, Corduroy, Heathcliff and original content like Jass Time!, the channel will offer Indonesian …

CANNES: ZDF Enterprises has acquired more than 140 hours from National Geographic Television International (NGTI), to be distributed in German-speaking territories on an exclusive basis. The volume deal includes documentaries in the way of natural history, science, current affairs, society …

CANNES: ITV Studios is to develop several of Mattel’s family entertainment board-game brands into TV formats and multiplatform properties, which ITV Studios Global Entertainment will distribute worldwide.   The deal includes brands such as Scrabble, Pictionary and Uno. The agreement …

LONDON: A new study from Content Economics Research states that European broadcasters spent 12 billion euros on original content commissions in 2008, led by Germany with 3.1 billion euros. The U.K., the report notes, was the second-largest investor in original …

VIENNA: Thailand’s public broadcaster is launching a Wonderful Planet slot in prime time, where wildlife and science docs from Austrian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ORF) Universum strand can air.   The ORF titles air at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in Wonderful …

NEW YORK: Nickelodeon has given an order for a second season of 20 episodes of the stop-motion animated series Glenn Martin, DDS from Michael Eisner’s Tornante Animation.   The comedy series follows the offbeat adventures of the Martin family, who …

CANNES: Endemol has reached an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Media Company that includes both a local version of the new Jerry Seinfeld-executive produced series The Marriage Ref as well as the original NBC edition. Abu Dhabi Media Company has …

SINGAPORE: ESPN Star Sports has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to Barclays Premier League on multiple platforms in markets across Asia, including India, while in Malaysia and Brunei it is sharing the games with Astro. The ESS deal covers 18 …