Top Stories

UNIVERSAL CITY, March 28: In a deal with NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, News Corporation’s FX has secured the network television window rights and the U.S. basic-cable rights to more than a dozen films from Universal Pictures’ 2008 slate, including …

STOCKHOLM, March 28: The Swedish Radio and TV Authority (Radio-och TV-verket) has granted Modern Times Group’s (MTG) Viasat Broadcasting two new channel broadcast licenses in the Swedish digital terrestrial network (DTT) and has renewed Viasat’s existing four licenses. With the …

BURBANK, March 28: NBC has partnered with Strikeforce for a weekly mixed martial arts cage-fight series, Strikeforce on NBC. Kicking off on April 12, each episode will feature Strikeforce mixed martial arts fights and highlights as well as fighter profiles. …

MONTREAL, March 28: Distraction has secured its first deal in China with the sale of the game show Dirty Rotten Cheater to Beijing New Century Media. The high-tension game show, created by Jonathan Goodson Productions, is already a hit in …

MIAMI, March 28: MTV Latin America has launched La Zona, a multiplatform initiative that includes a new talent search reality series. Through this initiative the network kicks off its pan-regional talent search contest, La Zona de Combate, in search of …

LONDON, March 28: BBC One has renewed the drama Ashes to Ashes for a second season, set to air in 2009. From Kudos Film and Television, in association with Monastic Productions, Ashes to Ashes was a strong performer in its …

BASKING RIDGE/NEW YORK, March 28: MTV's bilingual channel, MTV Tr3s, is now available on Verizon Wireless’s V CAST Mobile TV platform. MTV Tr3s is the only Hispanic offering on Verizon’s V CAST. Programs exclusively offered on V CAST include Sucker …

LONDON, March 28: Coolabi Productions’ preschool animation series The Large Family has been commissioned for a second season by CBeebies. Based on the books by Jill Murphy, the show’s 11-minute episodes in 2-D cel animation chronicle the domestic chaos of …

LOS ANGELES, March 28: Granada Ventures has secured three global licensing partners for its girl-skewing property Bella Sara: HarperCollins, Codemasters and Sababa Toys. HarperCollins was appointed as the worldwide master publishing licensee for Bella Sara. The deal covers all publishing …

LONDON, March 28: BabyTV will launch its 24-hour channel on ten additional platforms in Europe, including Portugal, Estonia and Greece. The launches include PT Telecom and Cabovisão in Portugal, UPC in Austria, Alice IPTV in France, Telset and Elion in …