Top Stories

LONDON, March 31: ZenithOptimedia has downgraded 2008 ad expenditure growth in North America and Europe to 3.8 percent, but has upgraded the forecast for the rest of the world to 11.1 percent. The organization notes that developing markets will contribute …

TORONTO, March 31: Breakthrough Entertainment has licensed three TV movies to Hallmark Channel for broadcast this year in the U.K., Ireland, Asia, Australia, Hungary, Romania and Poland. The deal includes the features The Road to Christmas, Absolution and Cradle of …

NEW YORK, March 31: Barry Diller has won a court case that allows him to proceed with the separation of IAC/InterActiveCorp into five separate companies, a move that John Malone’s Liberty Media had attempted to block. The battle between longtime …

MALIBU, March 31: JAKKS Pacific has been named the exclusive worldwide master toy licensee for American Gladiators by MGM Consumer Products. The agreement, brokered through licensing agent JTMG on behalf of MGM Consumer Products, includes action figures, accessories, outdoor sports …

CULVER CITY, March 31: Sony Pictures Television has announced the launch of PIX, a film service for mobile phones that will launch to AT&T subscribers this May. Subscribers of AT&T Mobile TV will gain access to contemporary and library films …

LONDON, March 31: Fireworks International has secured the multiplatform distribution rights to a selection of new original productions from U.K.-based animation studio ZAC Toons. The deal includes international TV, broadband, video, mobile and VOD rights for all of the properties. …

WASHINGTON, March 31: Matthew Blank, the chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks, and Anne Sweeney, the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and the president of Disney-ABC Television Group, are the 2008 recipients of the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership from …

LONDON, March 31: Entertainment Rights has acquired the worldwide distribution rights, excluding Thailand and with shared representation in Japan and Korea, for Shellhut Entertainment’s CGI-animated series Shelldon, which will launch at MIPTV. The agreement encompasses worldwide rights across all forms …

ISMANING, March 31: EM.Sport Media is moving closer to a merger with Switzerland’s Highlight Communications, upping its stake in the company and tapping Highlight’s chairman, Bernhard Burgener, to succeed Werner Klatten as its new CEO. EM.Sport Media is increasing it …

TORONTO/VIENNA, March 31: Canadian high-definition broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV has acquired a package of documentaries from Austrian pubcaster ORF that encompasses wildlife, history and art. Among the slate of documentaries secured by High Fidelity HDTV is the award-winning Ants!—Nature’s Secret …