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LOS ANGELES/PARIS, August 25: The Tennis Channel has entered into a multi-year agreement with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) for the exclusive U.S. non-broadcast network rights to Roland Garros (the French Open), beginning next year. This is The Tennis Channel’s …

MONTREAL, August 25: Distraction has notched up a number of new deals in the U.S. market—including one for an adaptation of its hit scripted format Love Bugs—since setting up its office in Los Angeles under executive sales director Rob Kaplan. …

ST. LOUIS/NEW YORK, August 25: Sesame Workshop will create Sesame Street-themed attractions in four theme parks operated by Busch Entertainment Corp., which already operates the Sesame Place theme park in Pennsylvania. The new attractions will be set up at SeaWorld …

LONDON, August 25: Five has named Nick Thorogood as the controller of its new digital channels, Five Life and Five US, both of which launch this fall. Thorogood begins his new role in September. Until earlier this year, he was …

LONDON, August 24: Andrew Brann, the former commercial director of The Television Corporation, has joined forces with Vivian McGrath, the former managing director of RedBack Films, to launch an independent outfit that has already clinched a U.S. representation deal with …

WASHINGTON D.C./LONDON, August 24: National Geographic Channels International and National Geographic Channel in the U.S. have commissioned Darlow Smithson Productions to produce a third season of Seconds from Disaster. The 13×1-hour series is filmed in HD, investigating some of the …

LONDON, August 24: Granada International has acquired the international distribution rights to Inside Criminal Minds: Conmen, a new documentary special from the Manchester-based independent Turn On Television. The 52-minute special uncovers four of the most complex and shocking “con” stories …

DULLES, August 24: AOL will offer full-length movie downloads on its AOL Video service, with agreements in place with most of the major studios, and has expanded its television slate with deals with Sony and Fox. AOL Video already has …

BURBANK, August 24: Ken Werner has been tapped to succeed Dick Robertson as the new president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Werner has spent the last nine years overseeing network distribution for The WB and was part of the …

NEW YORK, August 24: In 2010, there will be 8.7 million IPTV households in the U.S., up from 300,000 in 2005, according to Internet Protocol TV: Global Trends—2006, a new report from eMarketer. The report also notes that IPTV’s revenue …