Top Stories

NEW YORK, October 31: 4Kids Entertainment has licensed its 3-D, CGI-animated series Viva Piñata to several global broadcasters, including Mexico’s Televisa and a number of networks in Asia. Additional broadcasters include TV3 (New Zealand), Animax (South Korea), Momo Kids TV …

PARIS, October 31: VIZ Media Europe has granted Mediaset/RTI the Italian broadcast, DVD and merchandising rights for its Blue Dragon anime property. VIZ Media holds the licensing rights for the television, home video and non-video-game merchandising for Blue Dragon in …

NEW YORK, October 31: Dr. Malore I. Brown has been named Sesame Workshop’s project director for a new multimedia production of The Electric Company, overseeing the re-launch of the classic series aimed at children aged 6 to 8. Reporting to …

STOCKHOLM, October 31: Viasat Broadcasting has named Jakob Mejlhede as VP of central programming, replacing Todd Lituchy, who is moving to the Hong Kong-based Asian satellite broadcaster STAR. In his new position, Mejlhede will oversee programming for Viasat Broadcasting's free-TV …

NEW YORK, October 31: Karyn Schneider, a former executive at United Media, has been tapped to serve as the VP of licensing for Classic Media’s North American operations, effective immediately. Based in New York and reporting to the company’s senior …

NEW YORK, October 31: Comedy Central has named former USA Network executive Deena Stern as the VP of brand marketing. Stern will report to Peter Risafi, Comedy Central’s senior VP of brand marketing and executive creative director. In her new …

LOS ANGELES, October 31: Talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resumed today to hammer out a new contract, ahead of the expiration of the current contract at midnight tonight. …

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 31: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced a new rule that prevents cable platforms from signing exclusivity deals with apartment buildings. The move is intended to help lower cable rates for the nearly 30 percent of …

HONG KONG, October 31: A new report from the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and Standard Chartered Bank has found that piracy has cost the pay-TV industry in Asia $1.54 billion in lost revenues, up from $1.13 …

BRISTOL/BASKING RIDGE/SAN DIEGO, October 31: ESPN Mobile TV, Verizon Wireless and MediaFLO USA have teamed up to air National Basketball Association (NBA) games live on Verizon’s V CAST Mobile TV for the first time, beginning today. The NBA 2007-2008 season …