On Tuesday, November 28, 2000, EM.TV & Merchandising AG shares hit a new two-year low of 17.58 euros (US$15), but by the end of the day rebounded a bit to finish out the day at 21.50 euros ($18.42). A company spokesman assured the public that EM.TV is "definitely not broke." Rumors abounded yesterday that German media giant KirchGroup is in talks to buy a controlling stake in the branded merchandising and children's TV company. EM.TV is scheduled to release its third quarter results on Friday.

In a restructuring move, Icebox.com has cut its staff of 100 in half. The decision was made in an attempt to make the company profitable by the end of next year. Icebox will no longer produce its content in-house, but will use freelancers – some being the laid off employees -- and Flash animation production firms. Company CEO Steve Stanford reassured the industry that Icebox has US$2 million on hand, but needed to convince investors that the company is close to profitability. Stanford said that a new round of about $10 million in financing should close next month.

Turkey's health minister, Osman Durmus, has urged TV stations to remove POKEMON from their line-up in light of two children suffering injuries copying the actions of the cartoon's characters. On Friday, November 24, 7-year-old Seda Aykanat suffered a broken leg when she leapt off the fifth-floor balcony of her apartment. Previously this year, a 4-year-old boy in Turkey also sustained injuries copying the super-powered stunts of POKEMON characters.

On November 27, 2000, Microsoft filed legal papers with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to prevent the company's break up. In its first filing, the company attacked U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who originally ordered the split, as being biased.

AWN's stock ticker features the most prominent publicly traded companies in the world of animation. AWN, Inc. makes available certain financial information from third party information providers. AWN does not give advice in any such fields, and has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. This information is provided solely as a means to keep our readers informed of the market performance and trends of certain companies. AWN strongly suggests that one seek advice from a competent professional regarding any investment or financial issues.

In a report commissioned by Nickelodeon U.K., BBC's plan to form two new children's networks could cause commercially funded networks up to £400 million (US$580 million) in funding over a five-year period by undermining the economics of the commercially funded stations. Therefore the other 14 children's networks in the U.K. would have to rely more on cheap imports and repeat programming to stay viable against the publicly funded BBC networks. The report was conducted by independent analysts at Arthur Andersen. Nick U.K.

AWN's stock ticker features the most prominent publicly traded companies in the world of animation. AWN, Inc. makes available certain financial information from third party information providers. AWN does not give advice in any such fields, and has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. This information is provided solely as a means to keep our readers informed of the market performance and trends of certain companies. AWN strongly suggests that one seek advice from a competent professional regarding any investment or financial issues.

The Mad Cow Picture Company has just opened its doors in Sydney, Australia. The new studio specializes in Flash animation and animation pre-production, including storyboarding and character design. Mad Cow Picture Company offers a mix of digital and traditional animation. The company is currently creating pilot episodes for StupidHeroes.com and 00STEVEN: PLAYGROUND PRIVATE EYE. For more information contact The Mad Cow Picture Company at: Tel.: ++612 9808 4153; Fax: ++612 9808 1041; or Web: http://www.madcowpictures.com.

Montreal television producer TVA International has decided to decrease its production of primetime TV content and focus on animation and international distribution. As part of the move, the company cut 20 jobs and its head of longform production, Jacques Methe, resigned. The company said it would continue to distribute primetime productions worldwide, but would stop producing them. In addition, TVA Intl. announced its has signed a three-year pact with Studio Canal + to distribute the French production house's films in Canada. The deal is said to be worth several million dollars. TVA Intl.

On October 31, 2000, Missouri Circuit Court Judge Robert H. Dierker threw out the US$24.5 million judgment against Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, originally awarded to former hockey player Tony Twist in July. Twist had sued McFarlane for unauthorized use of his name in the comic book series SPAWN.