Top Stories

 LONDON: 

SYDNEY: First Australians, produced over six years by Australian Aboriginal filmmakers Rachel Perkins and Darren Dale, leads off the slate of SBS Content Sales for MIPDOC and MIPTV.  The multiplatform project encompasses seven episodes, an online experience, educational and retail DVD, a hard …

PHILADELPHIA: Fourth-quarter profit at Comcast Corporation dropped almost 32 percent to $412 million, largely as a result of a $600 million pretax impairment charge on its Clearwire investment in 2008. Revenues in the period gained 9 percent to $8.8 billion, with …

LOS ANGELES: David Smyth has left BSkyB after eight years to take on the role of VP of sales for Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution in Europe, effective immediately.   Smyth will be responsible for growing Fox’s initiatives in the co-production and …

OTTAWA: Asian Food Channel and Australia’s Premier Media Group have struck deals for License to Grill and Junk Brothers, respectively, from Knight Enterprises.  Australia’s Premier Media Group has acquired all 52 episodes of Knight’s popular furniture-renovation series Junk Brothers for …

  OTTAWA: The CRTC is considering a policy change that would require Canadian conventional broadcasters to spend as much on imported programming as they do on local content. The regulatory body is reviewing the license renewal process for Canadian broadcasters …

OAK BROOK: The Jim Henson Company has appointed RC2 Corporation as the global master toy licensee for the animated series Dinosaur Train, which is currently in production for PBS KIDS. Under the multi-year agreement, RC2 Corporation’s Learning Curve Brands will …

BURBANK: Disney XD, the boy-skewing service that replaced Toon Disney, scored record ratings at launch, with 6.5 million unique viewers in its first day on the air. A highlight of the launch on Friday was the premiere of Disney XD’s first …

PARIS/HOUSTON: A new lifestyle network aimed at Christians is slated to begin rolling out to the U.S., Africa, Europe and the Middle East next month. Joy Christian Television Network is being established by Rone de Beauvoir, a chef and author. It …

LOS ANGELES: Hallmark Channel has added to its western and mystery lineups with a slate of acquisitions from Sony Pictures Television. The deal sees the mini-series Comanche Moon and two additional Stone Cold movies starring Tom Selleck head to Hallmark …