Top Stories

HARRINGTON PARK, July 17: New Jersey-based distributor Janson Media has begun offering the international TV and DVD rights to Kenny Rogers: The Journey. The film provides a look at the successful country artist, who has recorded 61 albums and has …

DUBLIN, July 17: Irish production outfit Brown Bag Films has delivered the 52-episode RTE commission I’m an Animal, geared to the 3-to-6 set, with international distribution being handled by Monster Distributes. The preschool animated series of 2-minute episodes has been …

LONDON, July 17: Cartoon Network U.K. executive Dominic Gardiner has been named as director of programming at Jetix UK. Gardiner will join Jetix in September. His mandate includes programming, acquisitions, scheduling and on-air promotions at Jetix UK, with a strong …

LONDON, July 17: Rachel Innes-Lumsden, recently appointed to the new role of creative director of development of the BBC’s Factual & Learning division, has named three new development heads. Alistair Pegg has been appointed as the head of development for …

LONDON, July 17: Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, is back at the number one spot of MediaGuardian’s annual ranking of the 100 most influential people in British media, with Apple chief Steve Jobs in second place and News …

BRUSSELS, July 17: The European Commission has cleared British investment fund Cinven’s acquisition of the French cable TV, broadband and telephony provider UPC France from Liberty Global. The 1.25-billion euros deal was first announced in March, with a deal formally …

NEW YORK, July 17: Frederick Huntsberry, who was upped to president of NBC Universal International just two months ago, is leaving the company to become COO of Paramount Pictures. Reporting to Paramount’s chairman and CEO, Brad Grey, Huntsberry will be …

DOHA, July 17: The Middle Eastern news network Al Jazeera is calling for the immediate release of its Jerusalem bureau chief Walid Al Omary, who has been detained by Israeli authorities. According to Al Jazeera, Israeli authorities have been attempting …

HONG KONG, July 17: Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP) has inked a high-definition live-action series and library features deal in China that will bring Lost and Grey’s Anatomy to the state-run broadcaster CCTV’s new HD channel by the end …

NEW YORK, July 17: The Comedy Central cult hit Crank Yankers has found a new home on MTV2, with the cable network greenlighting production on eight new episodes. The series featured prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests …