World Screen

PREMIUM: Former president and COO of News Corp. and now head of his own production and media companies, Peter Chernin talks to World Screen about what makes a good TV show, the importance of Hulu and other digital platforms, and business opportunities in Asia.   WS: What do you look …

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast is launching a new subscription video service, Xfinity Streampix, which will feature content from Disney-ABC Television Group, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and others. The new service will enable Xfinity video customers to stream movies and TV shows wherever they are, on multiple screens and devices. …

BEVERLY HILLS: Larry Tanz has been promoted to CEO of Vuguru, upped from the role of president. As CEO, Tanz will continue to oversee development, production, distribution, marketing and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Vuguru in 2009, Tanz served as the president and co-founder of Agility Studios, a boutique multiplatform …

BEVERLY HILLS: Hulu has signed on as a partner for The Paley Center for Media’s PaleyFest 2012, for which it will stream full-length content and short-form clips of nine panels. Hulu will stream PaleyFest panels featuring the casts of Community, Once Upon a Time, New Girl, The Office, Bones, Castle, …

NEW YORK: U.S. consumers increased their monthly online video usage in Q3 2011 by 7 percent from the same period last year, though traditional in-home TV viewing still dominates, according to Nielsen’s latest State of the Media: U.S. Digital Consumer Report. The average monthly time clocked watching TV in the …

LOS ANGELES: FX has ordered season four of the animated series Archer, along with signing an overall deal with the show’s executive producers. In addition to the fourth-season order, producer FX Productions has closed a deal with executive producers Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, and their animation studio, Floyd County …

PREMIUM: Richard Plepler, HBO’s co-president, and Michael Lombardo, president of programming, discuss with World Screen Newsflash their quest for distinctive and genre-defining shows that customers can’t do without. Passionate engagement—that is what HBO wants from its subscribers. A key component in eliciting such viewer loyalty has been the variety of …

NEW YORK: The preliminary ratings for last night’s Academy Awards telecast were slightly higher than last year’s show, according to early data from Nielsen. Based on Nielsen’s Household Metered Market ratings in 56 U.S. markets and adult 18-49 ratings, the Awards averaged a 25.5 Household rating from 8:30 p.m. to …

BURBANK/LOS ANGELES: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group are working with SanDisk and Western Digital on an effort to advance the digital ownership of HD movies. Dubbed Project Phenix, the efforts will give consumers an easier and faster way to buy, store and playback HD …

LOS ANGELES: Paul Franklin is relocating from his post at Shine Australia to take on the newly created role of executive VP of programming at Shine USA. Franklin will relocate to Los Angeles, where he will head up creative oversight of Shine USA’s unscripted slate. He will report to Eden …