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NEW YORK: The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is honoring actor/director Alan Alda and writer/producer Norman Lear with two special Founders Awards at this year’s Gala, which is set for November 19 in New York City. Alda played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic TV show M*A*S*H and wrote and …

LOS ANGELES: Frank Saperstein, who formerly served as the senior VP of family television at Entertainment One, has established Surprise Bag, an entertainment company dedicated to the creation, development, production, financing, packaging and exploitation of content. At eOne, Saperstein served as the executive producer of the animated comedy The Dating …

LOS ANGELES: CBS’s prime-time shows are being listed to start 30 minutes later than normal on Sunday nights to accommodate NFL games on doubleheader weekends. 60 Minutes will be leading the night at 7:30 p.m., followed by Big Brother 14 at 8:30 p.m. through September 23, then The Amazing Race …

NEW YORK: News Corporation has named Paul Cheesbrough as its chief technology officer, reporting directly to chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. In the new role, Cheesbrough is responsible for the company’s global technology strategy as well as coordinating with senior leaders to develop new digital products and expand the digital …

MIAMI: MP & Silva has expanded its relationship with Major League Soccer (MLS) until 2014, giving it the exclusive distribution rights outside of North America for all games, tournaments and events. The agreement covers MLS regular season, Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup. MLS is North America’s professional soccer league. Carlo Pozzali, …

LOS ANGELES: BoPaul Media Worldwide (BMW) has purchased a library of 200 films from Spain’s Jose Frade Productions. The collection includes Blood and Sand, a 1989 action romance starring Sharon Stone, Chris Rydell and Ana Torrent. Another title is Dr. Jekyll and the Manwolf, starring Paul Naschy—who was also the director. Additional films …

SAN FRANCISCO: AFL Productions has secured the global distribution rights to the complete libraries of Russia’s Home Channel and Peretz TV. The library for Home Channel consists of factual programming—including cooking and travel shows—aimed at women between the ages of 25 and 59. Peretz TV’s catalogue contains content such as home …

NEW YORK: Five additional scripted projects are currently in development at Bravo Media, including an update on the ’80s cult classic Heathers. From Sony Pictures Television, Heathers will be a present-day update from the 1980’s film that starred Winona Ryder. The Apartment (working title) is from Uni TV. It looks …

LOS ANGELES: Adding to its catalogue, MarVista Entertainment has acquired three new telefilms—Today’s Special, Language of a Broken Heart and Doggie Boogie—for international distribution. Today’s Special, a romantic comedy starring Aasif Mandvi (The Dictator), Jess Weixler (Teeth), Harish Patel (Run Fat Boy Run) and Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding), is about a …

NEW YORK: Nancy Dubuc, who is slated to deliver a keynote at the upcoming MIPCOM event, has been appointed to the newly created role of president of entertainment and media at A+E Networks. In this promoted role, Dubuc will be overseeing all content creation, brand development and marketing for the entire …