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ENGLEWOOD/LOS ANGELES, June 14: A month since launching on DIRECTV, BabyFirstTV, a 24-hour premium channel devoted to babies, toddlers and their parents, has reached a carriage deal with DISH Network. The service, which rolled out on DIRECTV last month, will …

ARLINGTON, June 14: As part of its efforts to better serve its audience in a multiplatform universe, PBS has tapped public broadcasting veteran John Boland to fill the newly created role of chief content officer. The announcement marks the first …

LONDON/NEW YORK, June 13: IPTV company Narrowstep’s proprietary technology is powering the Country Channel, a broadband network for outdoor enthusiasts and countryside residents. The channel, located at www.countrychannel.tv, went live on a 24/7 basis on June 9. It aims to …

LONDON/SYDNEY, June 13: Southern Star International has licensed the Bryan Brown series Two Twisted to Hallmark International Channels. Brown stars in and produces the 14×30-minute series from New Town Films in association with the Australian Film Commission and the New …

NASHVILLE, June 13: The Miss America Foundation is working on a documentary series with the Viacom-owned cable network CMT, following contestants for next year’s pageant as they go through the preliminaries this September. Finding Miss America will be shot September …

TORONTO, June 13: Canadian kids’ network YTV and Vancouver-based Studio B Productions have struck a deal to produce 10 new special episodes of Being Ian for broadcast beginning September 2007. The terms of the agreement also give Corus Entertainment rights …

MEXICO CITY, June 13: Comarex has become the worldwide agent of TV and film writer Alpha Dolly, with plans to bring her novelas, series, TV movies and a reality show to DISCOP. Dolly worked with Delia Fiallo for some 15 …

LONDON, June 13: MercuryMedia is continuing its acquisitions drive, picking up the rights to the 48-minute special 9/11: Press For Truth from New York-based DTT Documentaries. The film tells the story of four 9/11 widows known as “The Jersey Girls” …

AMSTERDAM, June 13: Off the Fence has secured two deals in Poland in advance of the Central and Eastern European programming market DISCOP next week. A package of three one-hour specials has been sold to TVP2: Cherub of the Mist …

BURBANK, June 13: DIC Entertainment has named Jeffrey Edell as president and COO following Brad Brooks’ resignation to return to investment banking with a position at Imperial Capital. Brooks will continue as a consultant to DIC’s senior management in finance …