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LOS ANGELES, January 8: USA Network has given an 11-episode order for Royal Pains (working title), the first original series production from Universal Cable Productions for the network. Royal Pains looks at young doctor Hank Lawson, who seems to have …

LONDON, January 8: On January 14, BBC World Service is set to launch its news and information channel for Persian-language speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and elsewhere around the world. BBC Persian TV is intended to reach consumers on a …

LOS ANGELES, January 8: ABC and Juma Entertainment have begun casting for a new alternative series, Superstars, which pairs eight celebrities with eight professional male and female athletes to compete against each other in various sporting events. The series is …

SANTA MONICA, January 8: An affiliate of the investment firm Quadrant Management has acquired a 60-percent stake in Genius Products, the beleaguered home-entertainment distributor that Entertainment Rights (ER) today said it is mulling legal action against. GNPR Investments, a Quadrant …

NEW YORK, January 8: Univision Communications has renamed Univision Online to Univision Interactive Media, with Kevin Conroy, the former executive VP of AOL, to serve as president of the division. Effective January 12, Conroy will be based in New York …

LONDON, January 8: Virgin Media has clinched a deal to make a range of programming from ITV available on its on-demand and catch-up TV services. The agreement gives the British broadcaster its biggest potential on-demand audience, encompassing the cable platform's …

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8: A U.S. consumers advocacy group is calling on Congress to delay the analogue switch-off this February "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals." Consumers Union, the …

NEW YORK, January 7: Bender Media Services has finalized a number of new licensing agreements with buyers across Latin America for several programs from its catalogue, including Wild & Crazy, which has been licensed to UCV TV in Chile. Wolverine …

LAS VEGAS, January 7: As Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off in Las Vegas, Deloitte released findings from its State of the Media Democracy survey, revealing that 14- to 25-year-olds view the computer as more of an entertainment device than …

SYDNEY, January 7: Beyond Distribution has picked up a second season of 20 15-minute episodes of Numberjacks that is currently in production for delivery throughout 2009. The first season currently airs in more than 40 countries, with Beyond securing deals …