Top Stories

LONDON, February 26: Spellbound Entertainment has secured a series of new broadcast and distribution deals in Iberia for its preschool show The Koala Brothers. In Portugal, state broadcaster RTP has bought all 78 ten-minute episodes, as well as the 46-minute …

LOS ANGELES, February 26: The Academy Awards broadcast on ABC on Sunday night attracted an average of 32 million viewers; the lowest on record since Nielsen Media Research began compiling the data in 1974. The three-hour-long event, hosted by Jon …

SINGAPORE, February 26: Filming has begun for a new TV movie, titled Wherever You Are, co-produced by Six-Six-Eight (6-6-8) in Singapore and Italy’s FilmMaster Television. Wherever You Are is directed by Ambrogio Lo Giudice and stars the Italian actress Lucrezia …

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 26: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the transfer of News Corporation’s majority control of DIRECTV to Liberty Media. In its ruling, the FCC said that the public-interest benefits of the transfer outweighed the potential harms. …

LOS ANGELES, February 26: TV Guide Broadband, an advertising-supported online video service provided by TV Guide Network, has signed new production agreements, bolstering its original programming lineup. Rhett & Link, the Internet musical comedians best known for hosting The CW’s …

SEATTLE, February 26: Hellman & Friedman is shelling out $2.4 billion to take control of Getty Images, a leading creator and distributor of still images and stock footage. Under the terms of the agreement, Getty Images stockholders will receive $34 …

LOS ANGELES, February 26: Endemol USA has appointed Eric LaVanchy to helm the newly formed, U.S.-based casual games group, which is part of the producer-distributor’s digital-media division. As the director of gaming, LaVanchy will be responsible for the development and …

NEW YORK, February 26: MyNetworkTV has inked a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that makes the channel the exclusive prime-time broadcast home of WWE SmackDown, beginning this fall. WWE SmackDown was previously broadcast on The CW and its precursor, …

HONG KONG, February 26: Disney Channel has rolled out a SVOD service on PCCW’s now TV IPTV platform in Hong Kong. This new agreement marks Disney’s second broadband service launch in the region. Last month, Disney Channel Taiwan debuted Disney …

NEW YORK/SAN BRUNO, February 25: Home Box Office (HBO) has debuted a branded channel on the video-sharing site YouTube, featuring a selection of video content from shows such as Extras and Entourage. Videos from HBO shows like Flight of the …