Top Stories

CLEVELAND/TORONTO, July 23: Cookie Jar Entertainment has acquired the Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears properties for $195 million in a deal that settles litigation initiated by American Greetings Properties and enables the completion of the acquisition of DIC Entertainment. Last …

MONTREAL, July 23: Distraction has secured sales for five of its formats, including a deal for The Next Great Leader in the Middle East. Pyramedia in the Middle East has taken on The Next Great Leader, with the company’s CEO, …

LONDON, July 23: By the end of this year, there will be 186 million connected TV devices in use around the world, according to a new report, allowing users to access web content directly on the television set. “The web …

SYDNEY, July 23: Beyond Distribution will be the worldwide distributor of a factual programming lineup from the Debbie Travis Group that will be launched at MIPCOM. The collection of factual entertainment includes several new titles focused on the home. In …

SYDNEY, July 23: Israel 10 has acquired the rights to produce a local version of Southern Star International’s hit reality series The Block. The Block features four couples moving into four identical apartments where they have 12 weeks to design, …

TORONTO, July 23: Shaftesbury Films has begun production on season two of its one-hour drama series Murdoch Mysteries, which will premiere in spring 2009 on Citytv. Filming for the show will run until November 11 in Toronto and Hamilton with …

CULVER CITY, July 23: Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Simon Rich have created and are starring in a new original web series, The Line, which will launch on Crackle.com. The seven-episode series features two friends as they …

PAWTUCKET, July 23: Hasbro will launch a toy line on July 26 for the new animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, in addition to other items for the franchise, including a Millennium Falcon toy, action figures and a lightsaber. …

LONDON, July 23: Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has notched up additional deals for Dragons’ Den, licensing the format into Ireland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. In Ireland, the format will be produced by Screentime ShinAwiL for RTE, while in …

TORONTO, July 23: Corus Entertainment has announced a management reshuffle, with Scott Dyer becoming chief technology officer and Doug Murphy taking on responsibility for the company’s kids’ networks. Effective August 5, Dyer will assume the role of CTO, reporting to …