Top Stories

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 …

CYPRUS/LONDON, June 19: Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) has signed multi-year, multi-genre agreements with Cypriot pay-TV broadcaster Lumiere TV (LTV), in collaboration with the public free-TV broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC). The deals cover a slate of blockbuster movies, Disney …

LONDON, June 19: ITN is rebranding its ITN Archive operation as ITN Source, with plans to invest £1 million to further build its footage and 3G content businesses. The new corporate identity is intended to underpin the company’s strategy of …

HILVERSUM, June 19: Endemol International has acquired the select worldwide rights to produce local versions of the music talent format Singalong. Endemol has a one-year-option on the show, developed by Sweden’s Friday TV. The deal for worldwide rights excludes the …

LONDON, June 19: Granada International’s Dancing on Ice format has been sold to the Slovakian commercial network TV JOJ. The channel will produce 14 episodes of its own version of the show for launch later this year. The format, first …

LONDON, June 19: Celador International has acquired the worldwide television rights to the game show format Mr & Mrs, which ran on ITV in the 1970s and 1980s. Celador International has acquired the rights from Derek Batey Enterprises and the …

LONDON, June 19: British independent Flashback Television has appointed Channel 4 International as the worldwide distributor for the period drama Beau Brummell—This Charming Man, produced for BBC Four. This is the first BBC drama project to be acquired for international …

PALISADES PARK, June 19: Alfred Haber Inc. (AHI) is to continue distributing the Annual Grammy Awards, via a new deal with The Recording Academy. The deal for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 marks AHI’s 18th consecutive year of …

MAINZ, June 19: Alexander Coridass has signed a new five-year contract to remain at the helm of ZDF Enterprises. Coridass is the president and CEO of the company, which is a division of German pubcaster ZDF. He has overseen ZDF …

SHANGHAI, June 19: Film piracy in China cost the worldwide movie industry $2.7 billion last year, according to data from the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The Chinese film industry shouldered the bulk of the burden, losing about $1.5 billion, compared …