Top Stories

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 …

NEW YORK, July 17: Bravo has given an eight-episode second-season order to The Real Housewives of Orange County for broadcast later this year. Bravo has tapped Evolution Film & Tape, whose credits include Fear Factor and Big Brother, to produce …

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 14: The Federal Communications Commission has approved the $17-billion sale of Adelphia Communications Corporation to Time Warner and Comcast Corporation. In clearing the deal that was first announced in April 2005, Adelphia also permitted the exchange of …

TORONTO, July 14: Alliance Atlantis Communications has licensed the second window rights for the CSI franchise in numerous markets, generating about $250 million in license fees. Ted Riley, the executive managing director of international content distribution for Alliance Atlantis, says …