Top Stories

MUNICH: Dick de Rijk, the creator of Deal or No Deal who recently ended his alliance with Endemol, has struck a multi-year deal with ProSiebenSat.1 Group, with the distribution of his new creations to be handled by SevenOne International. ProSiebenSat.1 will have …

SINGAPORE: HBO Asia is due to start broadcasting in high definition on October 1, beginning in Singapore and the Philippines, followed by Hong Kong on October 6. HBO aims to expand its HD feed to other territories in the region …

MONTREAL: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) returns to MIPCOM with a new buyers’ website, where clients can screen product, including newly released films, download sales sheets and connect directly with NFB salespeople. “We’re very excited about launching or …

HONG KONG: Comcast International Media Group (CIMG) has tapped SPE Networks—Asia (SPENA) to serve as the ad sales representative for E! in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. “Having reached a milestone in growth and distribution, the next logical step …

BURBANK: A third season of Wizards of Waverly Place has been ordered by Disney Channel. This will bring the total number of episodes in the series to 86. The series recently won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program. Created by …

BEIJING/HONG KONG/LOS ANGELES: Fox Filmed Entertainment, through its Fox International Productions (FIP) unit, is working with STAR Greater China and the Chinese production venture Huayi Brothers Media on the romantic comedy Hot Summer Days. The Chinese-language romantic comedy is co-directed by first …

SYDNEY: NBC Universal Global Networks continues to roll out the crime and suspense channel 13th Street and children’s entertainment offering KidsCo, with new launches on the Foxtel and Austar platforms in Australia. The channels are set for launch on the …

TORONTO: Polar Cap Productions has secured agreements with the Documentary Channel in New Zealand, TVScreen in Poland and XDC Digital Cinemas in Belgium for its HD documentary The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning, which is making its MIPCOM debut. The …

RESTON: Google sites—led by YouTube—hit the 10 billion videos viewed mark in August, representing 40 percent of the more than 25 billion videos viewed during the month. According to new data from comScore, Microsoft sites ranked second with 547 million …

LOS ANGELES: Lloyd Kaufman, the president of Troma Entertainment, has been elected to a second two-year term as the chairman of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). Serving as chair of the 150-member organization, Kaufman says he will "continue to fight …