Top Stories

LONDON, March 12: Interactive web-TV platform Babelgum is kicking off the launch of its newest software with the Babelgum Online Film Festival, a competition to be judged by Spike Lee, among others. More than a thousand productions from 86 countries …

BURBANK, March 12: NBC will team up with executive producer Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and her production company, Is or Isn’t Entertainment, and British independent outfit Wall to Wall to roll out a version of the BBC celebrity ancestry series Who …

ENCINO, March 12: Solid Entertainment has joined forces with BlueFrontier.tv to distribute Jules Verne Adventures, a 7×1-hour documentary series that mixes adventure and exploration of some of the world’s great mysteries. The seven episodes that make up this package of …

BEIJING, March 12: The format market in China is heating up, with Hunan Satellite TV said to be working on an adaptation of Betty la fea, while Idea Asia is developing a version of Sony Pictures Television International’s (SPTI) Blackjack …

SANTA MONICA, March 12: Barbara Wall has been promoted to executive VP of television and Andy Richley to VP of television development at Lionsgate. Wall will continue to work on new program development for both broadcast and cable, including half-hour …

ALVISO, March 12: TiVo has inked a deal with YouTube to make available the online user-generated video network’s content directly to TV sets using the company’s DVR service. The new YouTube content will be available later this year on broadband-connected …

WASHINGTON D.C., March 12: National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) has promoted Stephen Hunter from senior executive producer to VP of production. In addition to maintaining his current responsibilities, Hunter will oversee the management of production content, budgets and deliverables, supporting …

PARIS/LOS ANGELES, March 12: The creators of the Eastern- and Central European-targeted DISCOP market have announced the launch of a new niche content market, DISCOP Africa, which is set to take place in Dakar, Senegal, from February 25 to 27, …

NEW YORK, March 12: Coming off its second consecutive record-breaking year, Comedy Central has lined up a star-studded 2008-2009 development slate, which includes everything from short-form and sketch/variety offerings to scripted narratives and animation. Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword …

NEW YORK, March 12: New-media content producer Next New Networks has entered a partnership to distribute its programming through AOL Video. Under this partnership, 12 networks will each be prominently featured in the channels and categories of the AOL Video …