Top Stories

SYDNEY, June 23: Following intense criticism from legislators, Australia’s Network Ten has pulled the plug on Big Brother—Adults Only, its late-night edition of the reality show. TEN said the Big Brother franchise overall has been out-performing last year’s edition, and …

GENEVA/PARIS, June 22: French broadband ISP Free is working with i-concerts to offer its subscribers a high-definition channel and an IPTV VOD platform, both featuring performances from some of today’s top artists. The ADSL channel i-concerts HD launched yesterday. It …

LONDON/BUDAPEST, June 22: Leopard International, a division of the U.K.-based Leopard Films, is making its first appearance at DISCOP this week with a lineup of key documentary and drama titles. Topping the list of dramas is the 90-minute Mysterious Creatures. …

NEW YORK, June 22: Nick Jr. has ordered a second season of 20 episodes of the popular preschool program The Wonder Pets! Created and executive produced by Little Airplane Production’s Josh Selig, and featuring music by Tony and Grammy award-winning …

LOS ANGELES/BUDAPEST, June 22: Harmony Gold is at DISCOP for the first time, offering up a slate of specials and series headlined by Rin Tin Tin. Harmony Gold will be showcasing 65 half-hours of the classic show, digitally remastered and …

LONDON/BUDAPEST, June 22: Ancient Worlds Brought to Life, a series commissioned by the Readers Digest Association, headlines the DISCOP slate for the U.K.-based international program and home entertainment distributor Strawberry Entertainment. Another property available at the market is Kinda Yoga, …

LONDON, June 22: Zonemedia’s (formerly Zone Vision) new Zone Mobile division has inked a deal with British mobile entertainment developer ROK TV. Zonemedia will develop 15-minute segments of the company’s most popular programs for download, beginning at the end of …

LONDON, June 22: Private equity group Apax Partners, parent company of HIT Entertainment, is mulling a £1-billion bid for Telefónica’s 75-percent stake in Endemol, British press reports indicate. Apax may team up with venture capitalists to acquire the Netherlands-based format …

NEW YORK, June 22: Lisa Marks & Associates has been appointed the North American licensing and merchandising agency for five properties, including Toot & Puddle and Sea Monsters 3D: A Prehistoric Adventure from National Geographic. Toot & Puddle, the celebrated …

LOS ANGELES, June 22: The highly touted bidding frenzy that was expected around the Univision sale has not materialized, according to reports, with Haim Saban’s consortium submitting an offer that was deemed too low and three equity firms dropping out …