Top Stories

TORONTO, October 19: marblemedia and Blueprint Entertainment have partnered to produce 13 half-hour episodes of the animated series The Dating Guy, scheduled to air in late 2008 as part of The Detour on TELETOON, the Canadian animation station’s teen/adult programming …

LOS ANGELES, October 19: Kabillion, the multiplatform kids’ program service, has launched a new user avatar system, as well as a variety of Halloween-themed programming. The new avatar system will enable users to personalize their Kabillion experience by creating their …

TORONTO, October 19: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has made a number of international sales on its animated titles and environmental documentaries, and has reached a new distribution deal with France’s Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA). On the …

LOS ANGELES, October 19: BabyFirstTV, a 24/7 commercial-free television channel for babies and toddlers, will roll out a line of DVDs based on original programming from the channel, beginning November 1. The initial phase of the BabyFirstTV DVD collection will …

LONDON, October 19: As one of several changes within its programming department, British broadcaster Five has named Alex Menzies, currently the deputy controller of features, as its new head of features. Menzies joined Five in July 2005 after ten years …

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, October 19: CBS Corporation, NBC Universal, Viacom, Fox Entertainment Group and The Walt Disney Company have aligned with new-media players Dailymotion, Veoh Networks, Microsoft Corp. and MySpace for a set of guidelines to protect copyrighted content online. …

BURBANK, October 19: CBS has given full season orders to its freshman comedy The Big Bang Theory and the returning drama The Unit. The Big Bang Theory, from Warner Bros. Television, becomes the first new comedy to receive a full …

VIENNA/MUNICH, October 19: The Austrian banking group BAWAG has sold its 42.44 percent interest in ATV to Tele München Group’s Concorde Media Beteiligungs, which already holds a stake in the Austrian broadcaster. The exact purchase price was not revealed; a …

LONDON, October 19: In a deal with Disney-ABC International Television, the U.K.’s Channel 4 will make ABC series available for viewing on a free, ad-supported basis on its video-on-demand channel, 4oD, for up to 30 days following their initial linear …

NEW YORK, October 19: Jon Stewart has reached an agreement with Comedy Central to extend his contract as the host of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart through 2010. The news came on the heels of the network announcing that …