Top Stories

NEW YORK, September 15: Published reports in the U.S. indicate that News Corporation is considering offloading its 34-percent stake in leading satellite platform DIRECTV to Liberty Media. In return for the DIRECTV stake, Liberty Media would trade its 19-percent interest …

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 15: Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the chairman of TV Azteca, has agreed to shell out $7.5 million to settle fraud charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. In addition, former TV Azteca chief executive …

HILVERSUM, September 15: Endemol has purchased a 51-percent stake in Callactive, a specialist in interactive television formats in Germany and Switzerland, for an undisclosed sum. Endemol has options to further increase its stake in the future. Callactive, based in Munich, …

HOLLYWOOD, September 15: Just a day after announcing an on-demand deal on Survivor: Cook Islands with Rogers Cable in Canada, CBS Paramount International Television has inked a pay per view deal on the series with Bell ExpressVu. This is the …

LONDON, September 15: Fox Reality in the U.S. is teaming with Sky One and Talent Television in the U.K. for a new reality series that will chronicle entertainment producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick as they work to set up …

UNIVERSAL CITY, September 15: Universal Studios Consumer Products Group has appointed Playmates Toys as the U.S. master toy licensee for the upcoming animated television series The Land Before Time, which launches in the spring on Cartoon Network. The merchandising campaign …

TORONTO, September 15: Breakthrough Entertainment has announced deals with ION Health in the U.S. and Astral Media’s Historia in Canada on its slate of medical and historical programming. The medical shows Little Miracles (seasons 3 to 5) and Patient Files …

LOS ANGELES, September 15: Nickelodeon channels in the U.K., Italy and Spain have acquired all 39 episodes of the animated series Mix Master: King of Cards from Taffy Entertainment. Produced by Korea’s Sunwoo Entertainment and represented by Taffy Entertainment, the …

LOS ANGELES, September 15: Bennett Media Worldwide’s (BMW) catalogue of high-definition programming has been picked in several European markets, as well as in Mexico by TV Azteca. SKY Italia has licensed Bikini Destinations, The Wild Side, Boost Mobile Pro Snowboarding, …

WASHINGTON D.C., September 15: At National Geographic Channels International, Karin Simoncini has been promoted to VP of regional programming and network development, while Vincent D’Ambra has been upped to VP of business and legal affairs. Simoncini will oversee the launch …