Top Stories

TORONTO, October 4: Cuppa Coffee Studios will roll out its new stop-motion animated comedy series Life’s a Zoo.tv at MIPCOM, with thirteen half-hour episodes slated for delivery in spring 2008. Aimed at teens and up, the series puts a new …

NEW YORK, October 4: Comedy Central has picked up the new sketch and variety show Important Things with Demetri Martin, which is tentatively scheduled to premiere during the second half of 2008. Important Things with Demetri Martin is the second …

BARCELONA, October 4: Spanish kids’ distributor Ypsilon Films is set to debut the new series Real Pets, targeted at 3- to 7-year-olds, at MIPCOM Jr. Ypsilon has inked a deal for the worldwide distribution of the series, which is ready …

LONDON, October 4: British factual entertainment producer Amaze TV and Dutch-based producer D&D Media Group are aligning to build an as-yet-unnamed global media group, with the backing of private-equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, which has made a “substantial investment” in …

VANCOUVER, October 4: Studio B has signed a production order with YTV for 26 episodes of the kids’ comedy series Kid vs. Kat, which will be introduced to international buyers at MIPCOM along with Martha Speaks, which is set to …

PARIS, October 4: With the export of French productions on the rise, 53 production and distribution firms from France will be participating under the TV France International umbrella at MIPCOM next week. Sales and presales of French television productions reached …

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, October 4: Jon Helmrich, the founder and president of International Broadcast Communications (IBC), is heading for MIPCOM with a diverse slate of programs. Helmrich, who established IBC in 2001, divides his business between program sales and channel …

LONDON, October 4: BBC Worldwide has concluded a new distribution deal with Kudos Film and Television, taking on more than 55 hours of prime-time output from the British independent. The deal increases the total Kudos catalogue with BBC Worldwide to …

LOS ANGELES, October 4: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios’ worldwide television group has appointed Christopher Ottinger as executive VP of international television distribution. Ottinger will be based in MGM’s Los Angeles headquarters and is charged with direct oversight of MGM’s pay-TV licensing and …

MAINZ, October 4: ZDF and its commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises, have teamed with the CBC for India Reborn, a four-part, high-definition multimillion-dollar documentary coproduction. Three India Reborn episodes are being led by CBC teams, with the fourth being done by …