World Screen

LOS ANGELES: Rich Ross, the chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, is exiting the company. His tenure started in October 2009, after having served as president of Disney Channels Worldwide. The studio recently put out the film John Carter, considered one of its biggest flops, as its projected to lose …

LOS ANGELES: Peter Chernin has sold a minority stake in his Chernin Group to an investor group led by Providence Equity Partners for $200 million. Representatives of Providence will gain a spot on the Chernin Group’s board of directors. Chernin himself will become a senior advisor to Providence. With the …

SCOTTSDALE: One quarter (25 percent) of U.S. consumers intend to purchase smartphones and HDTVs in the first half of this year, according to ABI Research’s Technology Barometer survey. Of the survey respondents, 25 percent said they intend to purchase a smartphone during the first half of 2012, which is the …

UNIVERSAL CITY: Friends alum Matthew Perry is returning to NBC in a new comedy, Go On, which was given a series order by the network for the 2012-13 season. The order is for 13 half-hour episodes. Perry plays a sarcastic sportscaster who is recovering from a personal loss with the …

LOS GATOS: Netflix reported its first net loss since 2005 in the first quarter, of about $5 million, though it did add 1.74 million streaming subscribers in the U.S. This brings the total for domestic subs to 23.4 million. The domestic streaming segment delivered $57 million of contribution profit. Internationally, …

LOS ANGELES: Lindsay Lohan has been cast as the screen legend Elizabeth Taylor in the new Lifetime original movie Liz & Dick, which will be sold by A+E Networks. The original movie will share the fiery love story of Taylor and actor Richard Burton. Production is slated to begin in June …

LOS ANGELES: Michael Rosenberg has been upped from senior VP of original scripted series programming at Entertainment One (eOne) to executive VP of U.S. scripted television. Rosenberg will oversee the development and current programming teams, as well as the production of the company’s TV side. He will work closely with …

LOS ANGELES: Participant Media has picked up an equity stake in Cineflix Media, with the two set to partner on the creation, development and production of original programming for television. Last week Participant announced it was creating its own TV division, tapping Evan Shapiro to lead the unit. The company …

NEW YORK: A record 28 scripted and reality projects are in development for Syfy, which has unveiled a new transmedia event, Defiance, that will premiere in 2013. Defiance is a new transmedia experience that will bring together television and Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) gaming. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces …

LOS ANGELES: FOX’s new Saturday late-prime Animation Domination HD block, which launches in 2013, will feature the TV adaptation of the hit web comic Axe Cop. Axe Cop is the first new series in development by Animation Domination HD, the new animation unit created by Fox Broadcasting Company. The Axe Cop …