Top Stories

PHILADELPHIA, September 24: The 24-hour preschool network PBS KIDS Sprout celebrates its second birthday with the roll out of two new original morning blocks and a new season of its hit program The Good Night Show on September 26. The …

NEW YORK, September 24: Comedy Central has secured the first broadcast-window premiere rights to a package of National Lampoon movies. As part of the agreement, Comedy Central has acquired the first-window premiere rights to National Lampoon’s Bag Boy, the tale …

LOS ANGELES, September 24: American Cinema International (ACI) has formed an alliance with the British home entertainment distributor Blackhorse Entertainment. Slated for a November 5 release in the U.K. are ACI action titles Challenge and Final Contract, with The Clown …

LOS ANGELES, September 24: Troma Entertainment’s Lloyd Kaufman has been elected to a two-year term as chairman of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), effective immediately. IFTA membership also elected new executive committee members to two-year terms, including Michael …

LONDON, September 24: A new Screen Digest report predicts that the online TV market in the U.K. will generate annual revenues of £181 million by 2011. Screen Digest also notes that while there are only a few online TV options …

LOS ANGELES, September 24: MarVista Entertainment’s recent growth has led to the addition of newly created key executive roles and promotions, with D. Douglas Hill appointed as controller and Sara Rutenberg named senior VP of business affairs, along with several …

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS/ATLANTA, September 24: NBC Universal and Cox Communications have announced plans to offer a free trial of five NBC prime-time shows on demand exclusively to Cox Digital Cable customers in Orange County and Palos Verdes in California. The five …

TORONTO, September 24: Jennifer Bennett has been named as the new executive VP of licensing for CCI Entertainment, based in the company’s new Los Angeles office. In her new position, Bennett will be responsible for the company’s overall brand and …

BURBANK, September 24: In December, NBC will debut Clash of the Choirs, a live four-night holiday event series produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. The series will have its two-hour premiere on Monday, December 17 from 9 p.m. and will continue …

SHERMAN OAKS, September 24: GRB Entertainment has announced a promotion and a new hire in its international sales division, both reporting to Marielle Zuccarelli, the company’s senior VP of international sales. John Tancredi has been named the director of international …