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LONDON: In an e-mail to BBC staff, the pubcaster’s director-general, Mark Thompson, called James Murdoch’s recent tirade against the organization and other attacks "out of touch" with what audiences are saying, while Michael Lyons, the chairman of the BBC Trust, …

LONDON: The FremantleMedia dating show Take Me Out has been adapted for Japan, where it will launch on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in an 11:30 p.m. weekly time slot. Take Me Out will be the first local adaptation of an …

LOS ANGELES: MarVista Entertainment has closed new deals for a number of its feature films and family entertainment titles, including pickups from Disney Australia and Asia. The feature Will You Merry Me went to SBS in Belgium and ProTV of …

NEW YORK/LONDON: HISTORY and HISTORY HD will launch Czech-language services on UPC in the Czech and Slovak Republics, adding to the current roster of Central European territories carrying the channels that includes, among others, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Serbia. This …

SILVER SPRING: Discovery Communications has unveiled a landmark 60-episode, five-year documentary series exploring life’s big questions, to be overseen by the company’s founder and chairman, John Hendricks, for launch in 2011. Curiosity: The Questions of Our Life will tackle "fundamental questions and …

LONDON: Endemol Worldwide Distribution, bringing together the Endemol International and Southern Star International program catalogues, is set to launch at MIPCOM, led by Cathy Payne as CEO. The launch of the new division at the Endemol Group follows the company’s acquisition of …

MONTREAL: Madeleine Lévesque, former director of original productions at TELETOON, has joined Sardine Productions to lead development and production initiatives. Lévesque will identify and secure new projects to add to the company’s expanding development and production slate for both Canada …

LOS ANGELES: TV Guide Network has reached a deal for the exclusive basic cable rights to Punk’d, Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity hidden camera series for MTV, to air as a weekly one-hour strip. The one-year deal includes 100 half-hour episodes for launch …

NEW YORK: 4Kids Entertainment has licensed the latest series in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise to YTV in Canada, which also scored the rights to the comedy adventure series Gogoriki. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds is the ninth season in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. YTV has …

LONDON: In a deal with BBC Worldwide, UKTV’s family entertainment channel Watch has secured the British multichannel broadcast rights to season nine of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, launching this fall with a lineup that includes Kelly Osbourne. The American adaptation …