World Screen

BURBANK: Asylum Entertainment has inked an overall TV deal with the outfit set up by actress and singer Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) to produce family and young-adult content. At Blondie Girl Productions, Ashley and her sister Jennifer Tisdale, VP of development and production, will create and develop scripted and …

LOS ANGELES: PBS's upcoming programming highlights unveiled at TCA include a four-hour doc on Walt Disney, six new MAKERS specials and the broadcast of season four of BBC's Call the Midwife. Walt Disney, a two-night event, will premiere in the fall of 2015, directed and produced by Sarah Colt and …

NEW YORK: According to market researcher TNS, the number of U.S. homes that are streaming video content is on the rise, though most also still subscribe to a traditional pay-TV service. The study, which surveyed the telecommunications behavior of more than 20,000 U.S. households, found that 34 percent of homes …

LOS ANGELES: Former Alaska governor and one-time U.S. VP candidate Sarah Palin has launched her own subscription-based online video network, the Sarah Palin Channel. The network is available on the TAPP platform, which was founded by Jeff Gaspin, the former chairman of NBC Universal Television, and Jon Klein, the former …

LOS ANGELES: MarVista Entertainment has taken on distribution for two new Hallmark Channel original movies, When Sparks Fly and The Nine Lives of Christmas. When Sparks Fly is a romantic drama written by Carol Starr Schneider and directed by Gary Yeates. It stars Meghan Markle (Suits), Christopher Jacot (Beyblade: Shogun …

NEW YORK: The Comedy Central series Drunk History and Nathan for You have each been renewed for third seasons. Drunk History is based on a popular web series, featuring liquor-fueled narrations of stories from history. Nathan for You is a docu-reality comedy series featuring Nathan Fielder. These two join Comedy …

AUSTIN/HONG KONG: El Rey Network has signed a long-term programming deal with Celestial Pictures to gain access to 255 iconic martial arts titles from the Shaw Brothers library. A new five-year deal between the two kicks off on October 1, extending their current program licensing agreement. Through the pact, El …

HOLLYWOOD: Javier Avitia is taking on a new role as the executive VP of legal and business affairs at CBS Studios International (CBSSI), which he has a 15-year history with. Avitia has worked for CBSSI and its predecessor divisions, CBS Paramount International Television and Paramount International Television, for more than …

DALLAS: Netflix has agreed to pay AT&T for a direct connection to its network, a move that is meant to ensure the smooth delivery of streaming video. Netflix engaged in a similar deal with Comcast in February and another with Verizon in April. The so-called "interconnection agreement," which was struck …

LOS ANGELES: IM Global has established a TV production and distribution operation, IM Global Television, which is led by former Syfy president Mark Stern. Stern joins as president and partner in the new venture. He was most recently the president of original content at Syfy, also serving as co-head of …