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STRASBOURG: New data from the European Audiovisual Observatory’s MAVISE database reveals that there are now almost 5,600 channels available in the 29 EU countries, with 200 new additions in 2008 alone. The 5,587 channels do not include the 412 non-European channels …

CANNES/MUNICH: France 3 has picked up a total of 12 feature-length made-for-TV adaptations of Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, by American writer Donna Leon, from Bavaria Media. The Brunetti novels are published all over the world and have been translated into …

LONDON/NEW YORK: GroupM has revised its ad forecasts for the year, predicting a 4.4-percent drop in spending to $425 billion in 2008, as compared with its previous estimate of a 0.2-percent fall to $458 billion. The U.S. alone will experience …

TORONTO: Tricon Films & Television has scored a second-season commission from YTV in Canada for the kids’ talent format The Next Star. Fifteen new hour-long episodes will be produced of the superstar-seeking talent show. Along the same lines as the …

HONG KONG: A new initiative from the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) sees several pan-Asian cable and satellite outlets teaming to promote the effectiveness of regional networks as an ad medium during the downturn. According to CASBAA, this …

NEW YORK: Lightworks Program Distribution has tapped Autentic to distribute select programs in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland and Luxembourg. "We are delighted to be representing Lightworks’ high-quality content," said Patrick Hoerl, the general manager of Autentic. "Lightworks’ programming has …

NEW YORK: A range of programming from HIT Entertainment will soon be available on Sling.com, the free video entertainment site, currently in beta mode, from EchoStar Corporation-owned Sling Media. Sling.com will feature videos from a variety of popular HIT Entertainment properties, including …

UNIVERSAL CITY: NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has cleared The Office with local broadcast stations representing more than 93 percent of the U.S. ahead of the award-winning sitcom’s fall 2009 off-network syndication launch. Produced by Reveille, Universal Media Studios and Deedle-Dee Productions, the …

STOCKHOLM: Viasat Broadcasting has secured the exclusive live broadcasting pay-TV rights to Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the next three years on Viasat Sport Baltic. The deal covers at least 64 games per season from the league, which includes 21 …

CANNES, March 31: Sprout in the U.S. has acquired the Halifax Film production Mighty Jungle from DECODE Enterprises for launch April 24. The 46×11-minute puppet series will premiere as part of a special week of Earth Week programming on the …