Top Stories

MOSCOW, December 19: Russian broadcaster CTC Media has acquired the production companies Costafilm and Soho Media for $50 million in cash, payable over the next three years, as part of its efforts to establish an in-house production-and-distribution business. The deals …

Barcelona, December 19: Following the Asia TV Forum, production and distribution company Neptuno Films has finalized sales of its two new series, The Gloops and Zoomix, to C4U in Korea. The Gloops is a 3-D animated preschool series that has …

NEW YORK, December 19: MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks, has reached an exclusive deal with producer Jerry Bruckheimer to launch a game incubation studio that will develop and create new original video games. The agreement marks Bruckheimer’s …

NEW YORK, December 19: Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group has promoted Samantha Greene Woodruff to VP of strategy and business development from her role as senior director. Woodruff will support senior management in the development of long-range strategy plans for …

BURBANK, December 19: As the Hollywood writers’ strike continues, NBC has announced that it will repurpose two USA Network cable series, Monk and Psych, for its Sunday night lineup, beginning March 2008. Upcoming new episodes of Monk and Psych will …

DUNEDIN, December 19: Factual television producer NHNZ has promoted Lauren Wang to director of China operations, replacing Rachel Yu. Based out of the Beijing office, Wang will help oversee efforts to develop and maintain relationships with government agencies and broadcasters. …

LOS ANGELES, December 19: Peter Jackson, along with the chiefs of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios and New Line Cinema, have announced plans to produce two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. Under the agreement, MGM and New Line will …

BOSTON, December 19: According to research firm Strategy Analytics, there will be more than 1 billion broadband users worldwide by the end of 2008, led by the Asia Pacific. “The upcoming year will mark an important milestone in broadband adoption,” …

PALO ALTO, December 19: The IPTV platform Vuze has secured $20 million in its round C financing, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with existing investors Redpoint Ventures, Greycroft Partners, BV Capital and Jarl Mohn also participating. Mike Ramsay, the …

HONG KONG, December 19: National Geographic Channel HD is to become the first high-definition documentary channel in Hong Kong, rolling out on PCCW’s IPTV platform, now TV. National Geographic Channels International has already expanded its HD offering to the U.K., …