Top Stories

EL SEGUNDO, August 14: Just two weeks since recalling 1.5 million Fisher-Price toys manufactured in China, Mattel has announced the recall of 436,000 Cars die-cast vehicles over “impermissible levels of lead,” as well as more than 18 million magnetic toys. …

ATLANTIC CITY/LOS ANGELES, August 14: TLC has reached a multiyear deal with the Miss America Organization for the telecast rights to the Miss America Pageant through 2010. The rights were previously held by Viacom-owned CMT, which picked up the pageant …

LONDON/LOS ANGELES, August 14: The Africa Channel, a U.S.-based cable and satellite network featuring content about and from the African continent, has expanded into the international market, inking a carriage deal with BSkyB. The Africa Channel will launch on Sky’s …

TORONTO, August 14: The Canadian multi-faith and multicultural network VisionTV has unveiled its new drama-focused schedule for the 2007-2008 season, featuring more than 25 different drama series each week. VisionTV is also introducing a new brand positioning statement “Expect More,” …

LOS ANGELES, August 14: E! Networks is boosting its presence in Poland, inking new multiplatform deals with Vectra and Multimedia. Both operators have signed long-term deals to offer the E! Entertainment Network on their basic cable, digital cable and IPTV …

NEW YORK, August 14: Comedy Central has launched Address the Mess, a new multiplatform pro-social campaign committed to educating viewers on easy ways to reduce waste, improve their lives and help revive the planet. The first phase of the pro-social …

LONDON, August 14: The U.K.’s SCI FI channel has commissioned TellyJuice to write and produce Legion of Fire, a superhero-themed mockumentary drama for its broadband player, SCI FI Play. The original series is the first for the online channel and …

STUDIO CITY, August 14: Production is underway in Toronto on The Good Witch, a new original movie for the Hallmark Channel starring Catherine Bell (Army Wives) and Chris Potter (Hairspray). Set to air on Hallmark next year, the film is …

LONDON, August 14: Fireworks International has secured a number of new international broadcast deals for its 22×1-hour crime thriller Blood Ties, including a prime-time slot on the Virgin Media Television-owned LIVING channel’s summer schedule this year. NBC Universal has acquired …

SAN FRANCISCO, August 14: VIZ Media has acquired the download rights to the anime series Bleach from TV Tokyo and Shueisha and is planning to offer 20 episodes of the show in both the dubbed and subtitled versions via direct2drive.com …