Top Stories

MILAN: Atlantyca Entertainment has firmed up two licensing deals for its Geronimo Stilton brand covering the production of games and merchandise. Board-game publisher Editrice Giochi has signed a renewal deal to develop new updated games and original games for the …

LORETO: Rainbow S.p.A. has wrapped up a multi-territory deal with Panini for sticker albums based on its boy-skewing property Huntik, developed in partnership with Big Bocca Productions and m4e. The deal covers the U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. Panini …

LONDON: Space Hoppers and a new season of Richard Hammond’s Blast Lab have been commissioned by CBBC in the U.K. to add to its factual programming lineup for kids. Space Hoppers is a new 7×30-minute interplanetary adventure featuring physicist Professor Brian …

NEW YORK: HBO Archives is making complete episodes from The March of Time newsreel and documentary series, produced from 1935 to 1967, available for online viewing at its stock footage portal. The award-winning series, produced by Time Inc., contains original footage shot in …

BRUSSELS: Philippe Delusinne, the CEO of RTL Belgium, has been elected as the new president of the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT). Delusinne succeeds Nicolas de Tavernost, the chairman of the executive management board of M6, who has …

NEW YORK: Some 2.8 million American homes are not ready for the June 12 analogue switch-off, according to The Nielsen Company, reflecting about 2.5 percent of the television market. Younger, African American and Hispanic homes are disproportionately unready, the report notes, …

LONDON: The BBC Trust has issued its review of how the British public broadcaster is serving younger audiences—those in the 13 to 34 set—arguing that while outlets such as BBC Three are "doing a particularly good job," there are still areas …

ANNECY: French producer Cyber Group Studios has raised 1.5 million euros from company shareholder La Financière Viveris, the private-equity fund of bank Caisses d’Epargne, to boost its internal development strategy and support external growth. Current productions in various stages of development will …

NEW YORK: Twentieth Century Fox Television is returning to production on the animated sci-fi comedy Futurama more than six years after the series aired its last original episode on FOX, with 26 new half-hours to debut on Comedy Central in …

BANFF: In the 2008-09 fiscal year, the Canadian Television Fund contributed to the financing of 475 production and 325 development projects, with total budgets of more than C$943 million and C$18 million, respectively, resulting in the creation of 2,210 hours of …