Laurine Garaude has been confirmed as the director of Reed MIDEM’s television department, a position that puts her in charge of the MIP TV and MIPCOM programming markets in Cannes. Garaude has been acting director since the departure of Paul Johnson for Endemol where he was head of marketing before departing last year less than […]
Canadian film and TV movie distributor Knightscove Media has acquired TV producer and distributor Ellis Entertainment. The company has paid US$2.7 million for Ellis Entertainment, which is run by Stepehen Ellis out of Toronto. Knightscove Media distributes TV movies including Whoopi Goldberg-fronted Blizzard and Kart Racer starring Randy Quaid as well as series including Porchlight […]
KidsCo, the international kids channel, is set to ramp up its slate of original productions in 2010. The broadcaster has also inked its first carriage deal in China with Shanghai pay TV platform Startime. KidsCo, which was launched in September 2007 and is owned by NBC Universal, Cookie Jar Entertainment and Corus Entertainment, has found […]
Departing Nickelodeon UK boss Howard Litton is eyeing a move into the production side of the business following his exit from the kids broadcaster. However, he told TBIvision that he has no immediate plans and expects to start looking at new projects from the summer. Litton, who has worked at Nickelodeon for 15 […]
Sports broadcaster ESPN and factual channel operator Discovery are both launching 3D channels in the US later this year. The Disney owned sports operator is set to introduce ESPN 3D in June, launching with the airing of the first World Cup soccer games on June 11. The channel will air 85 live sporting events over […]
Howard Litton is leaving Nickelodeon UK after fifteen years at the kids broadcaster. As senior VP and managing director, Litton has run the kids channel and is one of the best known faces in the kids TV business. It was not immediately clear what Litton will do next. In a statement he said he […]
Providence is understood to have teamed with Chinese ISP Baidu and is preparing to launch an online video service in the country along the lines of US service Hulu. US private equity firm Providence is an investor in Hulu alongside NBC, News Corp and Disney and, according to wire reports, will invest US$60 million in […]
NBC’s sci fi series Heroes was the most popular show with illegal downloaders in 2009, continuing to top the chart with pirates despite dwindling ratings. Torrent site Torrentfreak released figures showing that Heroes was downloaded over 6.5 million times per episode in the United States, more than the show’s estimated average TV viewership of 5.9 […]
Spanish regional broadcaster Forta has picked up a number of US series including sci fi remake V as part of its deal with Warner Bros International TV Distribution. The regional broadcasting network – known as the Federation of Regional Organizations of Radio and Television – shares a long term volume deal with the US studio […]
Over 20 companies are interested in acquiring the assets of insolvent German and UK-based cartoon house BKN. Commerzbank, the investment bank handling the sale, told TBIvision that TV companies and potential financial investors from Europe, Asia and North America have approached it to express an interest. The bank is preparing the relevant documents and will […]
