Top Stories

SOFIA/LOS ANGELES, September 24: MGM Networks has signed an agreement with Warburg Pincus-backed Eurocom, the largest cable operator in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, to launch a local-language version of The MGM Channel in the region next month. The MGM …

LONDON, September 24: Disney-ABC International Television and Channel 4 Finland (Nelonen) have concluded an IPTV VOD rental agreement to bring U.S. series like Lost and Desperate Housewives on demand to viewers four days after their linear broadcast in the U.S. …

WASHINGTON, September 24: Smithsonian Networks has concluded its first carriage agreement with DIRECTV and will begin broadcasting its original programming on a new linear high-definition channel, Smithsonian Channel, tentatively slated to launch September 26. Under the carriage deal with DIRECTV, …

BURBANK/LONDON/SYDNEY, September 24: Disney Channel’s High School Musical 2 has debuted to record-breaking audiences this past weekend in the U.K., where it drew 1.74 million total viewers, and in Australia, where it delivered an average audience of 313,976 viewers to …

TORONTO, September 24: Astral Media's Family Channel will launch Playhouse Disney Canada, a multiplex channel targeting young children that will feature development-based programming from Disney, along with original Canadian content. The new channel will launch on November 30 on ExpressVu …

SINGAPORE, September 24: StarHub Digital Cable will roll out two new sports channels in Singapore, with the 24-hour cricket channel Neo Sports due to launch September 26, and the Golf Channel on October 16. Neo Sports will feature all home …

LONDON, September 21: ALL3MEDIA International has secured options and commissions throughout Europe for Lion Television’s hit format Your Wedding in their Hands (aka The Big Day). The one-hour format, where one couple gives total control of their wedding plans to …

LONDON, September 21: Sir David Attenborough will be involved in two new projects at the BBC’s Natural History Unit. The renowned documentary filmmaker will participate in Frozen Planet, a follow up to the hugely successful series Planet Earth. Frozen Planet, …

MIAMI, September 21: VeneMovies, a 24-hour pay-TV Spanish-language movie channel from Venevision International, celebrates a year of being on the air in the U.S. and Puerto Rico with expanded distribution through Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, OneLink Communications and Liberty. Venevision International, …

MUNICH/LONDON, September 21: TV-Loonland has secured the multi-territory distribution rights to the 3-D animated property Penelope, a 26×5-minute series from Japanese production company Nippon Animation. Under the deal, TV-Loonland will handle rights for TV, home video, VOD, broadband, IPTV and …