Fine Living Network hits EMEA 8 Mar 2010
US lifestyle channel Fine Living Network is to launch in more than 60 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa from next month.
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Beyond busts more myths for DNAP 5 Mar 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has tightened its grip on hit factual franchise Mythbusters, closing a deal for the sixth season of the show as well as all episodes currently being produced.
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Telcast sells into Austria 5 Mar 2010
Munich-based Telcast International has penned deals to sell documentaries to a ProSiebenSat.1-owned channel and an Austrian broadcaster, and has agreed a representation deal with a UK indie.
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Discovery HD launches in India 5 Mar 2010
NEWS BRIEF: The Discovery HD channel has launched in India as a 24-hour, English-language, ad-free premium satellite channel, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has confirmed.
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Fresh One debuts in Mid East 4 Mar 2010
Jamie Oliver's Fresh One Productions is to make an Arabic-language kids' show mixing science fiction and food for Al-Jazeera Children's Channel.
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NGCI tours weird hotels 4 Mar 2010
National Geographic Channels International has acquired a series about unique hotels from Toronto-based distributor Fremantle Corporation, to air on its network Nat Geo Adventure from April.
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PBS, BBC examine air crash 4 Mar 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Nova, the documentary strand of US public broadcaster PBS, has teamed up with BBC2 in the UK for a one-off doc about the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 in June 2009.
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Nat Geo explores UK crime 4 Mar 2010
NEWS BRIEF: National Geographic Channel UK has commissioned Leeds indie True North to produce a series examining the world of British crime from the 1950s through to the 1990s.
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Five names new factual commissioner 4 Mar 2010
UK terrestrial Five has appointed two new commissioning executives, luring over the Bafta-nominated producer of Ross Kemp in Afghanistan to be its new commissioning editor for factual.
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CBS Reality investigates Unsolved Mysteries 4 Mar 2010
NEWS BRIEF: International cabsat broadcaster Chello Zone has acquired the Unsolved Mysteries series from UK distributor RDF Rights to air on its CBS Reality and Zone Reality channels.
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Nat Geo Wild gets US launch date 3 Mar 2010
National Geographic is to launch new channel Nat Geo Wild in the US market on March 29.
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Discovery starts TLC's global roll-out 3 Mar 2010
Discovery Communications has unveiled ambitious plans to launch its female-skewing channel TLC into 75 markets, starting with Norway tomorrow.
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NGCI builds more Mega Factories 3 Mar 2010
National Geographic Channels International has hooked up with San Francisco-based indie Michael Hoff Productions for a second season of its manufacture and technology series Mega Factories.
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KPI names development chief 1 Mar 2010
New York factual production company KPI has found its new senior director of programmes and talent development in-house.
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BuzzTaxi picks up Associated fare 1 Mar 2010
Toronto-based factual distributor BuzzTaxi Communications has picked up three new titles from independent production company Associated Producers, which it will debut at MipTV next month.
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Brighton breezy 26 Feb 2010
The Beeb's annual distribution event, BBC Showcase, took place in the UK seaside town of Brighton this week. Patricia Fearnley, BBC Worldwide's head of factual content acquisitions, spoke to Adam Benzine.
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Aussie doc-makers welcome grant boost 26 Feb 2010
AIDC NEWS: Screen Australia is switching all documentary financing that falls under A$200,000 (US$178,000) from recoupable investments to grants, in a bid to boost the local industry.
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Music stops for B-Side 26 Feb 2010
US documentary distributor B-Side Entertainment is closing down on March 1 after five years in business, owing to a lack of funding and the tough economic situation.
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BBC celebrates Swinging Sixties 26 Feb 2010
BBC1 is marking the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Swinging Sixties with a week-long series of factual programmes and an original drama series.
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Target looks to Europe, Middle East for docs 25 Feb 2010
London-based distributor Target Entertainment has picked up the rights to three factual series from UK, Afghan and Swiss producers.
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BBC, Theroux prescribe Medicated Kids 25 Feb 2010
The BBC has commissioned presenter Louis Theroux to front a new documentary looking at a US university that treats thousands of children diagnosed with psychiatric problems.
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New Discovery net in South Africa 25 Feb 2010
African pay-TV broadcaster Multichoice has moved Discovery Channel into the entertainment section of its electronic programme guide and added another factual channel in its place.
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Octapixx wins gold medalist doc 23 Feb 2010
Canuck distributor Octapixx Worldwide has picked up international rights to a documentary about snowboarder Shaun White, who won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics last week.
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Little Couple return to TLC 23 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: US reality specialist network TLC has ordered a third season of LMNO Productions' series The Little Couple.
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Mercury ties up international sales 23 Feb 2010
London-based distributor MercuryMedia International has sold a host of single documentaries to broadcasters in Sweden, Finland, Poland, Israel, Australia and Latin America.
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Lawman warrants second season 22 Feb 2010
US cable network A&E has ordered a second season of Steven Seagal: Lawman, the reality show starring the former high-kicking martial arts actor.
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December, Robins form factual partnership 19 Feb 2010
Melbourne-based prodco December Films (Catching Cancer) has hooked up with veteran factual producer Penny Robins, in a move it hopes will strengthen its operations in the New South Wales region.
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Jarowskij hires ITV, Strix alums 19 Feb 2010
Swedish comedy production house Jarowskij has hired a former ITV Studios exec producer and the former head of development at Strix TV to expand into lifestyle, factual and ad-funded content.
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Cracknell, Fogle face the heat down under 19 Feb 2010
A new five-part BBC series is set to follow Olympic rower James Cracknell and presenter Ben Fogle as they team up for a 1,750-mile footrace across the intense deserts of the Australian outback.
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Deschamps resurfaces 18 Feb 2010
Nicolas Deschamps, the former director of Arte's daytime acquisitions department, has resurfaced at the documentary department of one of France's biggest broadcasters, C21 has learned.
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BBC2 committed to mental illness doc 18 Feb 2010
UK pubcaster BBC2 has commissioned a documentary in which filmmaker Julian Hendry, whose father was killed by a mentally ill man, investigates mental health problems.
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Ramsay poaches C4 exec for LA 18 Feb 2010
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's indie production house One Potato Two Potato has appointed a Channel 4 executive to run its newly opened office in LA.
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Nat Geo Europe president exits 18 Feb 2010
George Jeffrey, president of National Geographic Channels Europe, is leaving the company after 12 years to pursue a career in politics.
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BBC4 doc spotlights Zimbabwe 18 Feb 2010
UK diginet BBC4 is to air a hard-hitting documentary from Bafta-winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann, investigating children struggling with poverty in South Africa.
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History grows Baltic footprint 18 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: A&E Television Networks has added another Baltic TV platform to the European footprints of both the standard- and high-definition feeds of its History channel.
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BBC doc meets Muhammads 17 Feb 2010
The BBC is lining up a one-off documentary in which a number of very different people all named Muhammad are interviewed in a bid to challenge negative stereotypes.
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History exec goes Animal 16 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: US cable network Animal Planet has hired the director of scheduling and acquisitions from History Channel to be its VP of programme planning and scheduling.
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Cineflix sends chefs, monkeys worldwide 16 Feb 2010
UK factual producer-distributor Cineflix has sold two shows from its catalogue into Europe, North and Latin America and Australasia.
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Shaps: double whammy for docs 16 Feb 2010
The documentary industry is facing the twin problems of oversupply and a lack of commitment from broadcasters, according to Simon Shaps, former director of TV at ITV.
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BBC sends Theroux to Lagos 16 Feb 2010
Presenter Louis Theroux is to front a special BBC documentary investigating law and order in the Nigerian port city of Lagos, which will be accompanied by a separate three-part series examining the region.
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Frantic grows development team 16 Feb 2010
Canadian indie Frantic Films has expanded its Toronto and Winnipeg development team with the appointment of three new executives.
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Bravo voyages back into North sea 12 Feb 2010
Virgin Media-owned UK channel Bravo has commissioned a new documentary from the indie that was once the UK arm of LA-based Original Productions (Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers).
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Discovery names new specials chief 12 Feb 2010
US network Discovery Channel has revamped its specials and events programming executive team, appointing its former VP of production to run the department.
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American history X 12 Feb 2010
Social, political and economic upheaval in the US has prompted a wave of historical documentaries reflecting on America's past and its leaders, writes Adam Benzine.
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Wildlife shows lead Studio U7 sales 12 Feb 2010
Russian distributor Studio U7 has closed deals for UK, US, Canadian and French factual and reality programmes across Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
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Eyeworks to produce bomb hero doc 11 Feb 2010
Dutch indie Eyeworks has secured rights to the story of a man who stopped an alleged terrorist from detonating a bomb on a US-bound flight on Christmas Day, and is producing a documentary about the incident.
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Kardashian spins PR doc for E! 11 Feb 2010
American socialite-turned-businesswoman Kim Kardashian is producing a half-hour behind-the-scenes documentary about celebrity PR for US entertainment network E!.
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Good Food keeps larder stocked 11 Feb 2010
UKTV's Good Food channel has acquired UK multichannel rights to a slate of food-themed series from firms including NBC Universal International TV Distribution and FremantleMedia Enterprises.
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RDFR sends Daredevils abroad 11 Feb 2010
RDF Media Group has agreed a raft of international sales for Firecracker Films' factual series Daredevils, which aired in the UK on Channel 4.
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Sea Patrol UK sets sail again 11 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Five and National Geographic Channel UK have recommissioned docusoap Sea Patrol UK for a second series, with indie Wall to Wall Television producing another eight hours.
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Crime & Investigation sets Polish date 10 Feb 2010
A&E Television Networks' Crime & Investigation Network will make its Central and Eastern European debut next month when it launches on Poland's Cyfra+ DTH platform.
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Happy Family proves a heavy hitter 10 Feb 2010
US cable network TLC has ordered a second season of RDF USA's documentary series One Big Happy Family.
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Smithsonian tracks down Wolves copro 10 Feb 2010
Animal Planet International, US cablenet Smithsonian Networks and public broadcasters in Germany and Austria are to coproduce a documentary about a biologist tracking a pack of wolves.
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Virgin Media adds Discovery HD 10 Feb 2010
UK cable company Virgin Media is adding Discovery HD to its line-up and offering programming from the channel via its video-on-demand service.
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Crime writer subject of Investigation 10 Feb 2010
Investigation Discovery has lined up a new series fronted by crime writer Aphrodite Jones.
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Deadliest Catch star dies 10 Feb 2010
Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain who starred in Discovery Channel's flagship real-life series Deadliest Catch, has died from a massive stroke, aged 53.
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BBC looks into Christian persecution 9 Feb 2010
BBC religion head Aaqil Ahmed has made his first major commissions since joining the broadcaster from Channel 4 last year, ordering a slate of Christian-themed documentaries to air this Easter.
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E1 has Faith in hip-hop doc 9 Feb 2010
North American production house E1 Television and subsidiary E1 Music have teamed up with hip-hop artiste Faith Evans to develop a reality series chronicling her return to the music scene.
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Travel Channel hits New Zealand 8 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Travel Channel International has linked up with Kiwi platform Sky Television to launch the network in New Zealand.
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Aussie volume deal for RDF 8 Feb 2010
At least 300 hours of UK lifestyle programming is heading down under each year after UK distributor RDF Rights sealed a multi-year volume deal with an Australian pay-TV channel.
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Sky1 collars RSPCA doc series 8 Feb 2010
UK satcaster Sky1 has commissioned the tentatively titled Pet Police, an ob doc series following the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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BBC2 re-examines Children Act 8 Feb 2010
BBC2 has commissioned a documentary series looking at the impact of landmark UK legislation the 1989 Children Act, and how divorce in the modern age affects children.
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Hotel Inspector finds home on Home 8 Feb 2010
Home, the UKTV-owned diginet focusing on homes and gardens, has acquired cable rights to the first three seasons of factual entertainment hospitality show The Hotel Inspector.
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Zaslav eyes female market 8 Feb 2010
Factual television giant Discovery Communications is mulling the international launch of a new female-skewing pay-TV channel, its president and CEO David Zaslav has told C21.
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Scarlet put into administration 2 Feb 2010
UK production group Motive Television has appointed an administrator for its Manchester-based indie Scarlet Television, and is in exclusive talks with a possible buyer for Brown Eyed Boy.
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Nat Geo ventures into Belgium 3 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: National Geographic Channels International has continued its European roll-out by agreeing a carriage deal with Belgian IPTV platform Belgacom for three of its channels.
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Judge rejects C4, Studio Lambert injunction 5 Feb 2010
UK broadcaster Channel 4 has failed in its attempt to get an injunction to ban coverage of a libel battle in which it and indie Studio Lambert are accused of faking parts of a documentary about singer Michael Jackson's family.
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Passion hires former 3DD manager 5 Feb 2010
Passion Distribution has hired the former sales manager for Asia and Eastern Europe from 3DD Group to be sales manager for Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and German-speaking Europe.
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BBC4 charts history of the house 5 Feb 2010
BBC4 has commissioned a four-part documentary series telling the story of British domestic life from the Middle Ages to the present day.
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TLC welcomes The Hennon Family 5 Feb 2010
US cable network TLC has ordered a reality series based on a special about a dwarf couple awaiting the birth of their first child that aired on Discovery Health last year.
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Boeing, Heinz profiled in new German doc series 4 Feb 2010
European entrepreneurs who dominated America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are the subjects of a new series that unites German broadcaster NDR and Franco-German cultural network Arte.
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Asia-Pac factual deals for Breakthrough 4 Feb 2010
Canadian distributor Breakthrough Entertainment has closed a batch of deals for its factual programming with Asian and Australasian broadcasters, with the combined volume of sales totalling over 125 hours.
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Oprah doc to head OWN schedule 3 Feb 2010
Oprah Winfrey's upcoming US network OWN has ordered a behind-the-scenes documentary about the final season of the chat star's show to head its debut schedule.
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CIN spotlights more con men 3 Feb 2010
AETN-owned UK cable channel Crime & Investigation Network has commissioned a third season of Con Men Case Files, a documentary series looking at fraudsters.
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CTV hails Peak performance 3 Feb 2010
Reality series Peak Season, about life in the Vancouver ski resort of Whistler, will be broadcast in the US later this month and globally this spring.
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Indigo takes rights to Pakistan doc 3 Feb 2010
UK-based distributor Indigo Film & Television has acquired international television rights to a documentary film that sets out to challenge the view that Pakistan is the world's most dangerous country.
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CBS Reality picks up paranormal from Passion 2 Feb 2010
UK cabsat network CBS Reality has acquired three paranormal series from Passion Distribution.
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Nat Geo brushes up on Greek history 2 Feb 2010
Greek broadcaster Skai is teaming up with National Geographic Television to develop a six-hour documentary series that will seek to re-examine the role of Greece in world history.
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Cineflix gets Frantic for new factual 2 Feb 2010
NEWS BRIEF: London-based sales house Cineflix International has signed up to take 64 hours of Canadian indie Frantic Films' factual programming to the global market.
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Weird Creatures travel the globe 2 Feb 2010
ITV Studios Global Entertainment has inked agreements with a host of international broadcasters for Icon Films' factual series Weird Creatures, selling it into Finland, Greece and Australia.
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Lifestyle choices for CCI 2 Feb 2010
Canadian distributor CCI Entertainment (Harry & His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs) has beefed up its catalogue by over 200 hours, after a deal with lifestyle and reality TV production company Fusion Television.
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Beyond gets the Cream 2 Feb 2010
Australia's Beyond Distribution has underscored its relationship with Cream Productions of Toronto by picking up one of its factual cable series for the international market.
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Spike looks at midgets, scrappers 2 Feb 2010
US cable network Spike TV has commissioned two new series for this summer: one blue-collar docusoap about scrap metal workers in Brooklyn; the other looking at wrestling midgets.
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OWN acquires for new doc strand 1 Feb 2010
Oprah Winfrey's soon-to-launch US cable network OWN has acquired a feature-length film about a difficult family reunion as the first title for its planned Documentary Film Club strand.
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Ten Alps builds Asian operations 1 Feb 2010
UK factual media group Ten Alps is expanding its presence in Asia, acquiring a range of online and publishing assets and launching a joint-venture in a bid to expand its multiplatform model in Singapore.
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Landmark's Child adopted worldwide 1 Feb 2010
Landmark Films' shock doc My Child Won't Speak, which airs tomorrow on BBC1 in the UK, has been acquired in Australia, Europe, Israel, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Asia.
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Sundance win for Restrepo 1 Feb 2010
War film Restrepo, which follows US troops in Afghanistan's remote Korengal Valley, has won the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.
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C4 sets up in Notting Hill 1 Feb 2010
UK terrestrial Channel 4 has commissioned Notting Hill (working title), a real-life, quick turn-around documentary series following residents of the titular West London neighbourhood.
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C4, Studio Lambert sued over Jackson doc 29 Jan 2010
A former bodyguard to Michael Jackson is suing UK broadcaster Channel 4 and production company Studio Lambert for libel, claiming they fabricated parts of a documentary about the star's family.
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Food launched into Orbit 29 Jan 2010
NEWS BRIEF: Scripps-owned Food Network is to launch in the Middle East on the Orbit Showtime Network on February 1, with a 24/7 feed broadcast in English and subtitled in Arabic.
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Discovery Turbo speeds into India 29 Jan 2010
Factual broadcaster Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has launched its Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo channels in India.
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Tricon trumpets factual forays 28 Jan 2010
Toronto-based producer and distributor Tricon Films & Television has licensed a range of documentaries into France, Israel, Russia and South Africa.
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WE TV, Sundance dip into Beyond catalogue 28 Jan 2010
Australian outfit Beyond Distribution has licensed a range of factual and drama programming to Rainbow Media for its networks WE TV and Sundance Channel.
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C4 to investigate Haitian tragedy 28 Jan 2010
UK terrestrial Channel 4 has ordered Haiti's Killer Quake: Why It Happened, a quick-turnaround documentary examining the cause of the devastating tremors that rocked the Caribbean this month.
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History begins again 27 Jan 2010
As the third annual History Makers conference kicks off today at New York's Grand Hyatt hotel, Adam Benzine talks to executive producer Bill Nemtin about what to expect from this year's event.
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Zaslav places Discovery's bet on 3D 26 Jan 2010
NATPE NEWS: Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav has admitted that the company's plan to launch a 3D television network with Sony and Imax is a gamble, but the signs are that it will succeed.
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Doc spin-off to ape KidsCo's Boo 27 Jan 2010
Joint-venture children's channel KidsCo has teamed up with Kuala Lumpur's Astro Productions on a shortform documentary spin-off of its animated series Boo And Me.
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BBC4 explores multi-platform map project 27 Jan 2010
UK digital network BBC4 has commissioned a series focusing on maps, their historical significance and the future of cartography.
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Outright follows Authentic's Journeys 26 Jan 2010
Shed-owned Outright Distribution has picked up high-definition series Mysterious Journeys from US factual television producer Authentic Entertainment.
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NGC, BBC document skydive attempt 25 Jan 2010
NEWS BRIEF: The BBC and National Geographic Channel (NGC) are to coproduce Space Dive, a documentary about extreme sportsman Felix Baumgartner's attempt to skydive from 125,000 feet.
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