Top Stories

NORTH HILLS, July 1: Imperial Toy has secured the rights for a new line of bubble and sandbox toys based on HIT Entertainment’s preschool property Barney for spring 2009. Imperial will manufacture and market a complete bubble toy line, including …

LONDON, July 1: GroupM, the parent company to the WPP media agencies Mediaedge:cia and MindShare, among others, has lowered its forecasts for adspend growth in the U.K. from 6 percent to 4 percent, with just a 3-percent increase expected for …

LONDON, July 1: Chorion has named NSR as the new master toy licensee for its preschool property Noddy, along with signing new product distributors for the brand in the U.K., France and Benelux. Spin Master will handle all product distribution …

LOS ANGELES, July 1: As its contract expired yesterday, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) received the “final offer” from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which maintains that the industry is already in a “de facto strike, …

NEW YORK/SANTA MONICA, July 1: JWT is on board as the sponsor for the first season DVD release of Lionsgate’s critically hailed AMC series Mad Men, with the agency including a branded ten-second spot in the boxed set, which hit …

ALEXANDRIA/NEW YORK, July 1: While online viewing is on the rise, 94 percent of cable/satellite TV subscribers in the U.S. still prefer watching content on traditional TV sets, according to study conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable & …

NEW YORK, July 1: Chello Zone secured a representation deal with VOOM HD Networks to distribute the action-sports channel RUSH HD into Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. While Chello Zone will represent RUSH HD throughout much …

HILVERSUM, June 30: Endemol is launching a new company in Turkey to produce formats in the region, scoring its first commission through Show TV for a local version of the obstacle-course format Wipeout. Endemol Turkey will be based in Istanbul …

LOS ANGELES, June 30: Alan Rosenberg, the president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), has asserted that “no steps” have been taken to authorize a strike, with talks for a new contract continuing with Hollywood producers. SAG’s contract is due …

NEW YORK, June 30: With its takeover of CNET Networks complete, CBS Corporation’s CBS Interactive becomes the eighth-largest web network worldwide in terms of monthly unique visitors, with Quincy Smith tapped to lead the merged operation as CEO and Neil …