Top Stories

ROCHESTER, January 15: Ellen DeGeneres took the top spot in The Harris Poll’s annual favorite television personality list, beating out Oprah Winfrey, who took second place this year, and Jay Leno, who came in third. DeGeneres’s rise to the top …

SAN FRANCISCO, January 15: At the MacWorld Conference and Expo today, Apple unveiled its new movie-rental service, granting access to a catalogue of titles from all the major movie studios for viewing on computers, iPods and iPhones and widescreen TVs …

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES, January 15: Animation Collective has signed Televix Entertainment to represent its live-action, short-format comedy series Thumb Wrestling Federation: TWF in Latin America. Televix will represent the broadcast, home video and licensing rights throughout the region for the …

SILVER SPRING/CHICAGO, January 15: Discovery Communications and Oprah Winfrey have entered into a joint venture for the 2009 rollout of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, which at launch will have distribution in 70 million U.S. homes, replacing Discovery Health. The …

MEXICO CITY, January 15: Televisa Internacional, previously known as Televisa Estudios, is offering up a slate of formats at NATPE, led by Dancing for the Wedding of My Dreams and The Magnificent Five. The 10×210-minute Dancing for the Wedding of …

FRANKFURT, January 15: Leo Kirch has reportedly doubled his damages claim against Deutsche Bank and its former chief executive, Rolf Breuer. Last June, Kirch filed suit against Deutsche Bank and Breuer, seeking 1.2 billion euros in damages. Published reports indicate …

LONDON, January 15: March Entertainment, SLR Productions and Parthenon Kids have greenlit production for the new animated comedy series Dex Hamilton: Alien Entomologist, which has already pre-sold to Network Ten in Australia. The new 26×30-minute series follows the adventures of …

LOS ANGELES, January 15: Four Hollywood studios have cancelled a host of writers’ contracts, according to the Los Angeles Times, placing the development of new shows for the 2008-09 season in further jeopardy as the Writers Guild of America strike …

LONDON, January 15: Outright Distribution has secured a slew of deals, spanning six European territories, for its formats Leave Us Kids Alone and Back in Business. The reality format Leave Us Kids Alone, originally produced for BBC Three by Twenty …

NEW YORK/BEIJING, January 15: ESPN has teamed with four Chinese media companies to make a $253-million investment in NBA China, a new entity to handle all of the basketball league’s activities in the lucrative market. ESPN, Bank of China Group …