Top Stories

LAS VEGAS, June 10: Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) has granted the exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for Huntik: Secrets & Seekers to 4Kids Entertainment to air in its Saturday morning kids’ block on The CW in the first quarter of 2009. …

BURBANK, June 10: DIC Entertainment has been tapped by Charisma Brands as the global licensing agent for the re-launch of the classic girls’ brand Penny Brite, a line of dolls originally produced in the 1960s. DIC will create two merchandising …

NEW YORK, June 10: CBS Consumer Products has unveiled “Television City,” a new branding initiative that aims to make its collection of 150-plus classic television series, including The Twilight Zone, available to both consumers and retailers through distinctive packaging and …

TORONTO, June 10: Following the debut of the English-language feed of TELETOON Retro last fall, TELETOON Canada will launch a French-language version of its classic cartoon channel this September. The rollout of a French-language feed expands the total distribution of …

LOS ANGELES, June 10: Fox Television Studios has announced four key cast roles for Mental, its new drama that began shooting in Bogota this week for broadcast in Latin America, Europe and Asia on the Fox International Channels. The series …

LONDON, June 10: Lee Bartlett has been appointed managing director of ITV Global Content, after serving in an interim position since the sudden departure of Dawn Airey in April. Bartlett will be responsible for overseeing the company’s British and international …

LONDON, June 10: BBC Worldwide Channels will launch a suite of branded thematic channels in Africa, available through MultiChoice’s DStv platform beginning September 1. The new thematic channels—BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies—will replace and build on the …

CULVER CITY, June 10: Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation are developing a live-action and animated theatrical feature for The Smurfs, after acquiring the motion-picture rights to the iconic characters from Lafig Belgium via producer Jordan Kerner. Kerner, the producer …

TORONTO, June 9: Cookie Jar Entertainment is set to launch a trading-card game based on its multiplatform property Magi-Nation, brought to the market by 3 Point Entertainment. The trading-card game, set to launch later this year, will allow players to …

LOS ANGELES, June 9: The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has taken issue with the deal inked between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), noting that there are …