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UK relaxes TV ad rules 24 Jul 2008 
 UK media regulator Ofcom has drawn up a new code of practice governing advertising on British TV screens, removing a number of restrictions including those preventing ad breaks within half-hour documentaries.
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Henson to take Sid to Mipcom 24 Jul 2008
 The Jim Henson Company will resume foreign sales of its own shows at Mipcom in October, following a hiatus of several years, starting with new preschool property Sid the Science Kid, currently in production.
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Cookie Jar buys Shortcake, Care Bears 24 Jul 2008
Toronto-based kids prodco Cookie Jar Entertainment has agreed to buy American Greetings' Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears properties for US$195m, in a move that clears the way for its merger with DIC Entertainment.
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New Office to open in Russia 24 Jul 2008
 UK sitcom format The Office is continuing its global growth, with Russia being the latest country to make a local version.
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Fox, NBC sue Redlasso over copyright 24 Jul 2008
 US networks Fox and NBC have united to file a joint copyright infringement lawsuit against online video clip sharing service Redlasso, after a breakdown in talks between the parties.
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Ramsay, Optomen cook up JV 24 Jul 2008
UK indie Optomen Television and TV chef Gordon Ramsay have announced the formation of a joint venture that will produce all of Ramsay's global TV output for the next seven years.
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BBC, Mandabach develop sitcom scripts 24 Jul 2008
UK diginet BBC3 and Caryn Mandabach Productions, the US comedy producer's UK company, are developing scripts for two sitcoms from writing duo Tess Morris and Sophie Hetherington.
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BBC3 orders more Love 24 Jul 2008
UK diginet BBC3 has given the green light to a new series and a documentary from Baby Borrowers indie Love Productions.
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ID makes East European sales 24 Jul 2008
UK-based Digital Rights Group's distributors ID Distribution, Zeal Entertainment and Channel 4 International have brokered a series of sales with Eastern European broadcasters following June's Discop programming market.
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Kangaroo exec hops off to join Lloyd Webber 24 Jul 2008
One of the BBC Worldwide executives behind planned UK video-on-demand joint venture Kangaroo has left to head digital strategy at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group.
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European pubcasters grow Golden Apple 24 Jul 2008
Austrian producer MR Film has secured funding from a range of European public broadcasters to make a two-part miniseries called The Golden Apple, about the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683.
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Fox greenlights pilot with Glee 24 Jul 2008
US network Fox has commissioned 20th Century Fox TV to make a one-hour comedy pilot titled Glee, to be written and directed by Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck).
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NBCU channels up sticks for New York 24 Jul 2008
NBC Universal cablenets Sleuth, Universal HD and Chiller are moving from Los Angeles to New York, prompting a reorganisation of staff at the company's emerging networks division.
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ISPs help fight illegal downloading 24 Jul 2008
Six UK broadband providers have teamed up with the music and film industries to tackle download piracy and plan to send out thousands of warning letters.
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Live roulette channel hits Freesat 24 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: NetPlay TV's Live Roulette channel launches on UK satellite service Freesat TV today.
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Cartoon Network develops comics for film 24 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: US cablenet Cartoon Network has begun development on three original movie specials based on popular comic book titles.
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Disney, Fox join SingTel service 24 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: Asian broadcaster SingTel has signed up Disney-ABC International Television and 20th Century Fox to its Mio TV on-demand service in a move that allows subscribers to view the studios' series as early as 24 hours after their US premieres.
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Fiver takes Best Friend to Rehab 24 Jul 2008
UK diginet Fiver has commissioned a new eight-part reality series, Best Friend Rehab, from London-based indie Monkey Kingdom.
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Fox in Blinkx link-up 24 Jul 2008
Fox Networks' video advertising division has signed a global sales agreement with web video search engine Blinkx, to sell advertising externally on the Blinkx platform.
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Comedy Demon downloads with Vode 24 Jul 2008
Newly launched RDF Media comedy portal Comedy Demon, has signed up video-on-demand specialist Vode to manage the programming delivered by the service.
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Gameloft sees profits rise 24 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: Game developer Gameloft, which produces mobile versions of TV series such as CSI and 1 Vs 100, has announced second-quarter sales of US$39.9m – an 8% increase on the same period last year.
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MoMedia gets stylish with Sky 24 Jul 2008
Digital media company MoMedia International has been commissioned to produce a series of webisodes for Sky's style and fashion website Sky Style.
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Bauer hires Blinkx content boss 24 Jul 2008
Publishing giant Bauer Media has poached Marco Nadotti, Blinkx's director of content acquisition, to be its head of video acquisition and syndication.
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Singer finds new destiny in travel series 24 Jul 2008
Former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland is shopping a pilot for a new travel series called Around The World.
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Boardroom changes at ER 24 Jul 2008
Kids media firm Entertainment Rights is saying goodbye to its chief finance and operations director and has appointed two non-executive directors.
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Solid uncorks new doc 24 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: US documentary distributor Solid Entertainment has acquired the international sales rights to Uncorked! Wine Made Simple.
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Calon publishes new Hana books 24 Jul 2008
Welsh TV company Calon has branched out into publishing with the launch of two new books based on animated preschool series Hana's Helpline.
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Shine, New Regency set up film JV 23 Jul 2008
Elisabeth Murdoch's UK indie Shine and US producer/distributor New Regency have launched Shine Pictures, a new company set up to develop and produce broad-based commercial films for the global market.
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Eyeworks plans Italian brotherhood 23 Jul 2008
Netherlands-based group Eyeworks has opened an Italian production arm to produce a pilot of its scripted format Brothers & Detectives, C21 can reveal.
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Canadian indie unions vow solidarity 23 Jul 2008
Canada's two principal independent producers' bodies have pledged mutual support as they prepare to begin terms of trade negotiations with the country's broadcasters today.
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Stockholders back DIC, Cookie Jar merger 23 Jul 2008
Stockholders from kids prodco DIC Entertainment have voted to approve the company's US$87.6m merger with Canadian indie Cookie Jar Entertainment.
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ITV Productions gets creative with BreakThru 23 Jul 2008
ITV Productions, the UK broadcaster's production arm, has formed a creative pact with UK animation and short-film specialist BreakThru Films that will see the duo work together on a range of cross-media projects.
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Freesat adds 18 new channels 23 Jul 2008
Freesat, the UK free-to-air digital satellite TV service, is adding 18 new channels over the next few weeks, including a host of radio stations.
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Corus reshuffles execs 23 Jul 2008
Canadian animation studio Nelvana will have a new president starting in August following a reshuffle of the senior management team at its parent company, Corus Entertainment.
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RDF's ladettes get Oz revival 23 Jul 2008
UK superindie RDF Media and Australia's Nine Network are to create a new international version of reality format Ladette to Lady.
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Joost, Tom Group launch Chinese JV 23 Jul 2008
Web TV platform Joost and Chinese media conglomerate Tom Group have launched a joint venture to bring a full Joost offering to the region of Greater China.
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More countries enter Dragons' Den 23 Jul 2008
Sony Pictures Television International has sold its Dragons' Den format into Ireland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
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Distraction's Great Leader rules Middle East 23 Jul 2008
Montreal format house Distraction has signed off five new deals, including sales of The Next Great Leader, Trade Up and You Be the Judge.
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Merlin casts spell on Canada 23 Jul 2008
The BBC and UK indie Shine's fantasy series Merlin (13x60') has conjured up a broadcast deal with Canadian network CTV.
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MTV looks West for Iraq doc 23 Jul 2008
Rapper Kanye West is to front an hour-long documentary for MTV Networks paying tribute to Iraq war veterans.
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Undercover sales for C4I 23 Jul 2008
Digital Rights Group-owned UK distributor Channel 4 International has brokered deals with 15 broadcasters around the world for its one-off documentary Undercover in Tibet.
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Al Jazeera expands into Spain 23 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: Al Jazeera English will be available in more than 3.2 million Spanish households following a new contract agreement with TSF On Sat.
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Verimatrix attracts new investment 23 Jul 2008
Pay-TV security provider Verimatrix has unveiled details of its series C round of new funding, led by investment bank Goldman Sachs.
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MTG reports profit hike 23 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: Swedish media conglomorate Modern Times Group reported operating profit for the six months to June 2008 more than doubled to SEK2.4bn (US$0.3bn), compared with SEK1bn in the same period last year.
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Microsoft brings shortform horror to Xbox 23 Jul 2008
Microsoft has penned agreements with five horror movie directors to offer a series of short films via its Xbox Live service.
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SingTel, Warner in SVoD deal 23 Jul 2008
Warner Bros International Television Distribution has agreed to allow Asian broadcaster SingTel's Mio TV subscription VoD service to screen up to 60 Warner series as early as 24 hours after their US debuts.
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The Doctor materialises on iTunes US 23 Jul 2008
The first three seasons of the BBC's Doctor Who have been made available for download on iTunes' US store.
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Disney renews Greek volume deal 23 Jul 2008
Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, the Mouse's EMEA TV distribution arm, has renewed its multi-year volume agreement with Greek pubcaster ERT for a selection of content to be aired on both terrestrial TV and DTT.
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Wii makeover for Deal or No Deal 23 Jul 2008
Endemol gameshow format Deal or No Deal is to get its latest video game adaptation after the company signed a deal with Zoo Games for a Nintendo Wii version in the US.
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Keating to exit BBC2 for archive role 22 Jul 2008
Controller of BBC2 Roly Keating is stepping down to become the BBC's first director of archive content, charged with maximising public access to the UK pubcaster's archive of TV, radio and multimedia content.
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C4 defends doc row director 22 Jul 2008
UK pubcaster Channel 4's head of documentaries has thrown his support behind the MD of prodco Wag TV, telling C21 he would definitely recommission the director despite the furore over his doc The Great Global Warming Swindle.
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NBCU to jump in ahead of 2009 Upfronts 22 Jul 2008
NBC Universal, which this year dispensed with the traditional advertiser Upfront in favour of a series of one-to-one meetings with key advertisers, will hold a similar affair next April – more than a month before Upfront week.
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Sky strikes up digital music venture 22 Jul 2008
UK satellite TV company BSkyB is branching into the digital music business through a partnership with Universal Music that will see the launch of a new streaming and download service by year-end.
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Red Bee CEO steps down 22 Jul 2008
The CEO of broadcast services company Red Bee Media is stepping down from the day-to-day running of the firm at the end of the year.
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Postman Pat caught on CCTV 22 Jul 2008
Children's media firm Entertainment Rights has launched animated preschool series Postman Pat on CCTV, China's national television network.
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Joella aims to put Ernie on track for US 22 Jul 2008
Joella Productions, the UK prodco behind CBeebies' Underground Ernie, is looking to secure £5.5m (US$11m) to take its flagship property into the US.
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Nipplegate fine overturned in a flash 22 Jul 2008
A US federal appeal court has overturned a US$550,000 fine imposed on the CBS network over Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during 2004's Superbowl.
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SET to launch in Hong Kong 22 Jul 2008
English-language cablenet Sony Entertainment Television will launch in Hong Kong on July 29 via PCCW's pay-TV platform Now TV .
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Kindle tunes up musical toon 22 Jul 2008
Kindle Entertainment, the UK indie behind My Spy Family and Big and Small, is developing musical preschool show The Troubadours, about a trio of travelling musicians.
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DHX completes imX acquisition 22 Jul 2008
Canadian media group DHX Media has bought Nova Scotia producer imX Communications, along with its library of 20 films and 26 half-hours of television drama, documentary and animation, for C$755,000.
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Trapeze swings into action for CBC 22 Jul 2008
Canuck production house Trapeze Animation has received a commission for a new music-based live-action and animated preschool series from Canadian pubcaster CBC.
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Sony signs up with Adobe 22 Jul 2008
Adobe has updated its online Media Player with a new interface and has signed a deal that will allow users to watch films from Sony Pictures.
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Nick arrives in Arabia 22 Jul 2008
Nickelodeon launches its 50th global channel this week, Nickelodeon Arabia, which will be aimed at kids aged two to 14 across the Middle East.
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New role to oversee BBC web portal 22 Jul 2008
The BBC will appoint a group controller for bbc.co.uk, in accordance with guidelines set up by the BBC Trust following its review of the web portal's £36m (US$71m) overspend last year.
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GTV adds French-language service 22 Jul 2008
Pan-African pay-TV service GTV is set to increase its footprint in the region with the introduction of a French-language service.
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Sesame Tree takes root on CBeebies 22 Jul 2008
Northern Ireland's version of Sesame Street, Sesame Tree, is set to debut across the rest of the UK on the BBC's preschool diginet CBeebies.
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BBC bans event sponsorship 21 Jul 2008
The BBC has said it will no longer accept sponsorship of its events, such as Sports Personality of the Year and Proms in the Park, after a report found its editorial integrity was compromised by a commercial tie-in.
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C4 slammed over climate doc 21 Jul 2008
UK media regulator Ofcom has rapped Channel 4 for a lack of impartiality, after ruling that the pubcaster misrepresented a number of leading climate scientists in a documentary broadcast in March.
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Fremantle saving RTL's life 21 Jul 2008
FremantleMedia is coproducing a new daily drama together with RTL to headline the German commercial broadcaster's 2008/09 schedule alongside five new fact-ent series, including three based on UK formats.
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Virgin Media trumpets iPlayer growth 21 Jul 2008
UK cable provider Virgin Media has clocked up 10.5 million views of BBC programmes via the BBC iPlayer after its inaugural month hosting the pubcaster's catch-up service.
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Target sells Foxtel 30-hour doc package 21 Jul 2008
Global distributor Target Entertainment has concluded a raft of TV sales to companies in Australia and New Zealand, including a 30-hour documentary package to Aussie cablenet Foxtel.
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ITV under fire over product placement 21 Jul 2008
UK pubcaster ITV has been criticised by media regulator Ofcom for broadcasting "unduly prominent" references to Ford cars during music videos shown on reality contest American Idol.
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SPTI hires Marsh for EMEA role 21 Jul 2008
Sony Pictures Television International has poached BSkyB alumna Kate Marsh to take charge of its brand partnerships and channel development in EMEA.
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Crunch time in Cookie Jar, DIC merger 21 Jul 2008
DIC Entertainment's stockholders will meet today to vote on the US kids outfit's proposed US$87.6m merger with Canuck indie Cookie Jar Entertainment.
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Mr Baby gestating at Xilam 21 Jul 2008
French producer Xilam Animation will start production on a new shortform, family-skewing, satirical sitcom called Mr Baby.
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Sci Fi signs up Singer for miniseries 21 Jul 2008
US cablenet Sci Fi Channel has greenlit a host of new series and again teamed up with director Bryan Singer (X-Men) for an original miniseries.
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Showtime orders L Word spin-off 21 Jul 2008
US cable network Showtime has commissioned a spin-off from its cult drama The L Word and upped its order for a new Edie Falco show from pilot to series.
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Oxygen pumps up weight-loss series 21 Jul 2008
Women-skewing US cablenet Oxygen has greenlit a new weight-loss reality competition series, Dance Your Ass Off, to debut in 2009.
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Darwin story evolves into docu-drama 21 Jul 2008
Canadian outfit Ferns Productions is producing a docu-drama about the controversies surrounding the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
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Alfred Haber partners with K2 21 Jul 2008
US-based Alfred Haber Distribution has signed a three-year TV deal with K2 Communications to distribute 38 films originally produced for Imax and other giant-screen cinemas.
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USA Network prescribes hospital drama 21 Jul 2008
NBC Universal-owned cablenet USA Network has greenlit a trio of female-skewing scripted pilots for its 2008/09 season, including one from the writers of 8 Simple Rules and Just Shoot Me, to be produced by late-night host Conan O'Brien's company, Conaco.
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Zeal's Bee still flying 21 Jul 2008
US format The Singing Bee is still creating a buzz, with further international production deals secured by its UK distributor, Zeal Entertainment.
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MTV UK launches virtual support network 21 Jul 2008
MTV UK has launched an interactive social networking platform, MTV House, designed to give young people support and advice on issues including drugs, violence, and mental and sexual health.
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Tulk-Hart joins FME team 21 Jul 2008
NEWS BRIEF: International distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises has appointed Richard Tulk-Hart to the London-based role of VP home entertainment sales for EMEA.
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Bio launches in Hong Kong 21 Jul 2008
Niche pay-TV network The Biography Channel (aka Bio), will hit the airwaves in Hong Kong today, following launches in Singapore and the Philippines earlier this year.
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Deal or No Deal gets syndicated format 21 Jul 2008
Endemol gameshow format Deal or No Deal is set to go into syndication in the US.
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