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NEW YORK: TV Land has picked up Younger, which is written, executive produced and directed by Darren Star (Sex and the City) and stars Sutton Foster (Bunheads) and Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire). The single-camera comedy has been given a 12-episode order. The half-hour series is slated for a TV Land …

CULVER CITY: Despite a last-minute offer from Relativity Media, Maker Studios has confirmed that it is already locked into a merger agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Relativity made an offer of $525 million in cash and stock, plus $500 million in stock if Maker meets certain financial targets, according …

BOSTON: The pay-TV market in the U.S. saw subscriber losses in 2013, though it's poised to return to growth this year, according to new research from Strategy Analytics. In 2013, there was a 0.58-percent loss in total pay-TV subs in the U.S. The forecast is for a 0.14-percent increase in …

NEW YORK: NBCUniversal has embarked on an original video programming initiative for digital platforms and VOD. The programming will be promoted across the company's bouquet of TV networks and featured on its digital platforms as well as on VOD. The content will debut first on digital, including channel websites, Hulu …

NEW YORK: The Millennial-targeted network Pivot is on board for the Sky Atlantic original Fortitude, along with having 11 projects in development from various production companies. The 12-episode Fortitude, which stars Stanley Tucci, Michael Gambon, Sienna Guillory and Luke Treadaway, will be a Sky/Pivot original. The dark drama series, which …

SHERMAN OAKS: ITV Studios America has struck up an exclusive producer deal with Komixx Entertainment, which creates, produces and distributes entertainment for family audiences from preschool through tween and teen to young adult. All of Komixx's U.S. television development will now be through ITV Studios America. Komixx, which recently expanded into …

LOS ANGELES: MarVista Entertainment has optioned a number of contemporary literary works to be developed as potential theatrical releases of prime-time TV series, among them Alisa Valdes’ The Dirty Girls Social Club. The Dirty Girls Social Club has sold close to 700,000 copies in the U.S. alone and is also …

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast's second annual week-long Xfinity Watchathon broke VOD records, and in the process helped to boost ratings for live airings of shows such as Game of Thrones. Comcast offered its Xfinity cable customers on-demand and streaming access to complete runs of numerous series during the week of March 31 …

NEW YORK: A bevy of comedic luminaries are on board to headline Spike TV's One Night Only: An All-Star Comedy Tribute to Don Rickles, among them David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld and Tracy Morgan. The 90-minute special is being taped at the Apollo Theater in New York City on May 6. …

NEW YORK: A+E Networks is releasing HD programming from its A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime channels on the Apple TV digital media player. The free, ad-supported TV Everywhere content includes full episodes and exclusive clips from shows such as Bates Motel, Storage Wars, Project Runway, Devious Maids and Pawn Stars. A+E …