Top Stories

NEW YORK, September 18: Through an exclusive partnership, IFC will produce an original series of interstitials, Beyond the Multiplex, based on Salon.com’s arts and entertainment column of the same name. The series of two-to-three minute interstitials will feature conversations between …

TORONTO, September 18: Mary Powers, CTVglobemedia’s senior VP of corporate communications, has left her current position to launch her own strategic communications and brand marketing company, Powers Communications, with CTVglobemedia as her lead client. In this new role, Powers will …

LONDON, September 18: A new Screen Digest study examining the evolution of the high-definition video market predicts that both Sony’s Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats will be able to establish a viable installed customer base in the future, and …

LOS ANGELES, September 18: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) will launch its first wholly-owned channel in the U.S., MGM HD, featuring classic and contemporary films in high definition, on DIRECTV this fall. The MGM channel is currently available in nearly 120 countries …

MADRID/LONDON, September 18: Apple has granted the Telefonica-owned mobile phone operator O2 the exclusive contract to sell the iPhone in the U.K., starting from November 9. It has not yet been announced on what terms O2 won the contract, according …

SYDNEY: Private-equity firm Navis Media plans to acquire Beyond International in a deal that values the Australian production-and-distribution company at A$74.6 million ($62.5 million). The proposed takeover will be submitted to Beyond’s shareholders for approval in November. The company’s chief …

LONDON/NEW YORK/WARSAW, September 18: MTV Networks International (MTVNI) will launch its first pan-European high-definition channel in 2008, featuring English-language music content and a daily morning kids’ programming block that will air shows from Nickelodeon. The HD channel will be operated …

SINGAPORE/BEIJING, September 18: Discovery Networks Asia, with the cooperation of Visa, the main Olympic sponsor, today premiered six short films shot in Olympic cities at the Wanda Cinema in Beijing, showcasing China’s top filmmaking talent. The short films are the …

SYDNEY, September 17: Australia’s Network Ten has announced plans to launch the new free-to-air channel TEN-HD in December, which will offer its signature programs in high-definition. TEN-HD is Australia’s first new commercial free-to-air television channel for the major mainland metro …

NEW YORK, September 17: HBO will premiere the new five-part miniseries Five Days, a co-production with the BBC focusing on the mysterious disappearance of a young mother in a suburb outside of London, on Thursday, October 2 at 8 p.m. …