World Screen

LOS ANGELES: Alcon Entertainment has hired Laura Lancaster, who previously served as executive VP of drama programming at NBC Entertainment, as president of its TV group. Lancaster will report to Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Alcon recently scored a second season order for its Syfy …

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO: 21st Century Fox is set to acquire a minority stake in Osterhout Design Group (ODG), a leading augmented and virtual reality and smartglasses designer and manufacturer. Once the agreement has been finalized, 21st Century Fox will become the principal outside investor in ODG. In addition, the two …

LAS VEGAS: The digital network ESPN3 is being integrated into Sling TV’s Best of Live TV package, in a first for the pay-TV industry. ESPN3 offers thousands of live and on-demand sporting events. The deal with Sling TV marks the first time that the multi-screen digital network will be integrated …

LOS ANGELES: HBO has renewed the Emmy-winning comedy series Girls for a sixth and final season, which is slated to begin airing next year. Created by and starring Lena Dunham, Girls centers on the lives of a group of women in their 20s. The cast also features Allison Williams, Jemima …

BEVERLY HILLS: Amid its bankruptcy restructure, Relativity Media has acquired Trigger Street Productions, the entertainment production company owned and operated by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, with both execs now assuming leadership posts at the studio. Spacey will become chairman of Relativity Studios and Brunetti will become president of Relativity …

PASADENA: TV Land has placed a pair of comedy orders, for a third season of Younger from Darren Star and a pilot from Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. Younger is returning for a 12-episode third season starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar, Nico Tortorella, Miriam Shor, Molly Bernard, Peter …

PASADENA: A new anthology series exploring American cult personas is coming to A&E, in a partnership with Jake Gyllenhaal, Nine Stories Productions and A+E Studios.

PASADENA: Comedy Central has renewed its hit shows Inside Amy Schumer and Broad City, while greenlighting the new limited series Time Traveling Bong. Inside Amy Schumer, which won the first Emmy Award for outstanding variety sketch series, was given a fifth season. Its fourth season is due out in April. …

LONDON: National Geographic Channel (NGC) has signed on for its first scripted program, Blood Ivory (working title), while also unveiling its plans for the film event series One Strange Rock and the six-parter Original Sin: How Sex Changed the World. NCG has inked a development deal with DNA Films & TV (28 …

MONTEREY: Broadcast station mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume in the U.S. reached $486.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to SNL Kagan. The SNL Kagan report finds that the total is low compared to the more than $3 billion of the previous quarter, but it is still more …