World Screen

STAMFORD: Among the key growth initiatives cited by WWE for its 2013-15 business plan, devised to potentially double or triple its current EBITDA results, is the potential launch of a WWE network.  Also part of the plans are the renewal of key content agreements and the execution of its digital …

NEW YORK: Sarah Barnett has received a promotion at AMC Networks, upped to president and general manager of Sundance Channel. Barnett had been serving as the executive VP and general manager for Sundance Channel since 2009. She is based in New York City and reports to Ed Carroll, AMC Networks’ COO. …

NEW YORK: A federal jury has sided with DISH Network in a dispute over licensing rates for sports broadcasts, ordering ESPN to pay $4.86 million in damages. DISH had filed a claim that ESPN violated an eight-year broadcast licensing agreement by offering better rates to competitors. The jury ruled in …

ATLANTA: Turner Broadcasting veteran Justin Williams has been appointed as the new VP of digital for TNT and TBS. As the VP of digital, Williams is charged with supervising and driving awareness and consumer engagement with the networks’ programming and brands across all digital platforms. He is also expected to …

PREMIUM: Paul Lee, the president of the ABC Entertainment Group, discusses with World Screen his responsibilities for shepherding some of broadcast television’s biggest hits. WS: How would you describe the ABC brand? LEE: We do an internal branding study and the ABC brand is clearly defined for the U.S. audience. …

BURBANK: The CW is reviving the improvisational comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway?, hosted by Aisha Tyler, which is based on a U.K. format and also ran in the U.S. for eight seasons on ABC. The series will feature the return of comedians Ryan Styles, Wayne Brady and Colin …

LOS ANGELES: FOX has renewed the comedies New Girl, The Mindy Project and Raising Hope as well as the freshman drama The Following. Season to date, New Girl is the number one comedy among the core women 18-to-34 demo. The Mindy Project has emerged as the number one new comedy …

NEW YORK: ESPN has inked a multimedia rights extension with Azteca América for Liga MX, Mexico’s premier national soccer league, and Copa MX, the nation’s football cup competition, in the U.S. through 2015. This places, for the first time, the Mexican club matches on ESPN’s English-language networks. It also adds …

NEW YORK: The Sunday night debut of Vikings on HISTORY pulled in 8.3 million total viewers, making it the number one new cable series launch of the year among adults 25 to 54, while the network’s premiere of The Bible on the same night averaged 14.8 million viewers, making it …

PREMIUM: Charlie Collier, the president and general manager of AMC, discusses with World Screen the service’s transformation from a niche movie channel to a must-watch cable network. WS: How did original programming transform AMC from a movie channel to the home of some of the best series on television? COLLIER: …