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OTTAWA: David Silverman, best known for directing numerous episodes of The Simpsons as well as The Simpsons Movie, and Josh Selig, the founder and president of Little Airplane Productions, will headline this year’s Television Animation Conference, taking place October 14 …

LONDON: NBC Universal International has tapped Denise O’Donoghue, the former chief executive of British indie Hat Trick, to lead its TV production efforts outside of the U.S., based in London. As the president of international television production, a post she assumes …

LONDON: The preschool channel JimJam continues its expansion in Asia with a launch in Indonesia on the DTH platform AORA. Since its launch in 2006, JimJam has expanded into more than 50 territories, including Poland, Russia, Hungary, Switzerland, Czech Republic, …

NEW YORK/BURBANK: A&E Television Networks is to acquire Lifetime Entertainment Services, with the combined group to be led by AETN’s president and CEO, Abbe Raven, while Andrea Wong will remain in charge of Lifetime. AETN is a three-way partnership between …

TORONTO: A Canadian adaptation of the hit British series How to Look Good Naked is under way, produced by Insight Productions in association with W Network. How to Look Good Naked Canada will be hosted by Zain Meghji (eTALK). The …

HYDERABAD: DQ Entertainment’s 70-minute animated feature Ravan is slated to premiere on Turner International’s Indian kids’ network POGO on August 30. The Indian animation is based on the Hindu mythology about Ravan, a boy with supernatural powers who went on …

LONDON: Cheryl Taylor is to become the BBC’s new controller of comedy commissioning, taking up the role this fall. Taylor is currently the BBC’s executive editor for Out of London comedy commissioning. She has been responsible for nurturing original comedies …

SINGAPORE: Singaporean cable platform StarHub has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for La Liga for the upcoming three seasons till 2012. The Spanish football matches begin airing on StarHub this weekend, with up to four live matches weekly on Football Channel, SuperSports …

LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reached deals with Globo, Rede Record and Bandeirantes for the rights to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Globo, which won the bid, has acquired the rights across …

BURBANK: Kate Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8 is to co-host The View on ABC on September 14 and 15, sitting in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is on maternity leave until mid-October. The View makes its season premiere on …