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LONDON: Two new series are set to join SCI FI Channel’s lineup in the U.K. for the spring: NBC’s Knight Rider and FOX’s Dollhouse. The first-run British pay-TV rights for Knight Rider were acquired from NBC Universal International Television Distribution, while Dollhouse, …

BOSTON: According to the research firm Strategy Analytics, which notes that the top 27 digital media companies delivered revenues of $74 billion last year, the content download market is withstanding the downturn better than the online advertising segment. Among the …

MUNICH: Nick in Germany and the Studio100 Group are collaborating on the daily soap Das Haus Anubis (The House of Anubis), the station’s most extensive in-house production to date. Studio100 will be in charge of the local production, and the …

VIENNA: Indonesian national broadcaster TV Eduksi (TV-E) has picked up Explorer Express, an educational kids’ show from Austrian pubcaster ORF. Targeted at 8- to 12-year-olds, Explorer Express is a scientific and educational entertainment programs for kids. The show has been …

LONDON: BBC Trust has signed off on the pubcaster’s budget for the 2009/10 period, which includes an increase in spending on its online offerings, while cutting expenditure on traditional linear TV and radio. In announcing the new budget, the Trust said …

SINGAPORE: The more than 313 hours of content on offer from the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) covers a range of genres, including factual, lifestyle, animation and drama. MediaCorp artistes Qi Yuwu and Jeannette Aw of The Little Nyonya …

VINCENNES: Alphanim has secured new slots in Asia, Portugal and Israel for Matt’s Monsters, which was recently selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.  The 52×13-minute show has been sold to Cartoon Network in Asia, RTP in Portugal and Noga …

TORONTO: The free-TV rights to the first two seasons of Shaftesbury Films’ hit live-action comedy Life with Derek has sold to Televisa in Mexico. The half-hour comedy, about a modern blended family, can now be seen in more than 120 …

LOS ANGELES: FremantleMedia North America is being sued by three former reality TV production staffers, reports indicate, over alleged "sweatshop" conditions and the lack of overtime pay. The employees, who worked on Osbournes: Reloaded, Thank God You’re Here and American Idol, …

SILVER SPRING: Animal Planet will air a second season of the docudrama Jockeys, set amid the high-stakes world of horse racing. The first season, which brought in more than 9.2 million unique viewers ages 2 and up, wrapped on March …