Top Stories

MOSCOW, November 8: Discovery Networks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has tapped Video International Group as the exclusive representative for the sale of Discovery Channel’s advertising airtime in Russia. Airtime will be available from December this year. Discovery …

PALO ALTO, November 8: PBS has agreed to provide a selection of its programming on a download-to-own basis through the broadband entertainment platform Vuze. Vuze will offer PBS programs such as History Detectives, NOVA, and Scientific American Frontiers; PBS KIDS …

HAMILTON, November 8: Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has optioned The Kids Are All Right, a game-show format from Endemol-owned Initial, for all six of its territories: the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Romania and the Ukraine. The deal …

HILVERSUM, November 8: Following MIPCOM, Endemol International has closed a series of new format deals in the Middle East, Europe and Mexico. In the Middle East, LBC has commissioned three new seasons of Star Academy. The fifth season of the …

LONDON, November 8: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has renewed Fireworks International’s contract as the international distributor of the Primetime Emmy Awards Show outside of the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China and Vietnam. Fireworks International will continue …

LOS ANGELES, November 8: The Hispanic-targeted LATV Network, the first bilingual music/entertainment digital multicast network in the U.S., has picked up Over-Man Productions’ animated comedy series Caesar and Chuy, which premieres today at 9:30 p.m. Caesar and Chuy are animated …

COPENHAGEN, November 8: Zodiak Television World has secured a raft of options with European production companies for its catalogue of factual, entertainment and reality formats. The prime-time entertainment format Teen Starz has been optioned for production in Italy, Spain and …

LONDON, November 8: Channel 4 International (C4i) has acquired the international rights, outside of North America, to the animated series Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In The World. The 6×22-minute series originally launched this summer on MTV Networks’ …

NEW YORK, November 8: Driven in part by the theatrical releases of The Simpsons Movie and Live Free or Die Hard, News Corporation’s first-quarter revenues rose 19 percent to $7.1 billion, while profit fell 13 percent to $732 million. The …

STOCKHOLM, November 8: The Modern Times Group (MTG) announced several new appointments among senior management, as well as a reorganization of its Central and Eastern European operations. Manfred Aronsson has been appointed CEO of MTG Sweden. He will be responsible …