Top Stories

NORWALK, June 20: Hubbard Broadcasting’s ReelzChannel has acquired all seven seasons of CABLEready’s The Directors in advance of its September 27 U.S. rollout. The series, first launched on Starz Encore, profiles Hollywood’s top filmmakers, among them Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, …

LOS ANGELES, June 20: TV Guide Channel continues its new focus on original content by announcing Trapped in TV Guide, a weekly one-hour hidden-camera series hosted by Growing Pains alum Tracey Gold. Trapped TV Guide puts unsuspecting fans in the …

MALIBU/NEW YORK, June 20: Jakks Pacific has signed a multi-year, multi-product licensing agreement with HIT Entertainment to develop a range of merchandise based on Barney. Categories will include learning toys and plush, with product slated to begin hitting retail stores …

LONDON/MADRID, June 20: Granada International and Zinkia Entertainment’s preschool series Pocoyo has secured free- and pay-TV slots in Spain with TVE and Boomerang, and has sold to RTP in Portugal. The 3-D animated series, re-commissioned for a second season by …

NEW YORK, June 20, 2006: Taffy Entertainment will announce a major product launch for Cartoon Network’s hit animated program Code Lyoko at Licensing Show this week. A new toy line, created by Marvel Toys, will be available exclusively at Toy …

PARIS/BUDAPEST, June 20: Twenty-four French production and distribution entities are expected to take part in DISCOP under the TV France International banner, the highest attendance in the organization’s 12 years of attending the market. The Central and Eastern European event …

OTTAWA, June 20: Cattleya has picked up the Italian home video and DVD rights to The Secret World of Benjamin Bear from Amberwood Entertainment. Cattleya originally licensed all television rights to the series for Italy and Italian-speaking Europe and has …

BUDAPEST, June 20: Endemol International will be showcasing a variety of ready-to-air reality titles, dramas and telenovelas at DISCOP, in addition to its catalogue of formats. The offerings include Five’s Larger than Life, a four-part series about obesity; the telenovela …

BUDAPEST, June 20: ZDF Enterprises will be showcasing several German dramas at DISCOP this week, including the telenovela Julia— Way to Happiness. The distributor will also be offering up new releases in some of its key franchises: three new Rosamunde …

NEW YORK, June 20: Bill Hillary is stepping down as the president and CEO of BBC America to join the ad buying agency MAGNA Global’s entertainment division. As president of MAGNA Global Entertainment, Hillary will oversee the development of branded …