Jetix Europe has started broadcasting its first localized channel in Bulgaria, C21 MEDIA reports. Though the channel has been available in Bulgaria since 1998, children in the Balkan region will now be able to enjoy their favorite shows in their own language via Bulgaria's major cable and satellite platforms. To begin, 30% of the channel's output will be in Bulgarian, with an increase to 100% projected for early 2008.
Playhouse Disney, the new multiplex channel from Family Channel launching November 30, 2007, today announced its programming lineup for the fall 2007 and winter 2008 seasons. The channel will offer exclusive, first-run programs from Disney together with celebrated Canadian series to create an environment of fun and learning for younger children.
Corus Entertainment's 24/7 preschool channel Treehouse will no longer be the only network of its kind in Canada when Astral Media's Family Channel launches Playhouse Disney at the end of November. The channel will feature programming from Disney, together with such original Canadian content as FRANNY'S FEET, THE SECRET WORLD OF BENJAMIN BEAR and KING.
Citing problems in getting access to spectrum on the Freeview platform, Walt Disney Television is closing down entertainment channel ABC1 in the U.K. after three years on air, reports C21 MEDIA. A decision has yet to be made on whether Disney will sell the spectrum or whether it will substitute another of its channels.
KidsCo, the joint venture channel owned by leading media companies Sparrowhawk Media, DIC Ent. (DIC) and Corus Ent. Inc.'s Nelvana Enterprises, goes on air today in Romania, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Poland carried by local cable operators. Deals have also been signed in Ukraine, where KidsCo will launch next month, and in Asia Pacific, where viewers will be able to tune in by early 2008.
Teletoon Retro, a new digital specialty channel featuring classic cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Fat Albert, Tom & Jerry, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Superfriends, will premiere across Canada on Oct. 1, 2007 at 6:00 pm. The channel will be available as part of the Digital standard package on Bell ExpressVu, with additional carriers expected to be finalized by launch. Beginning today, Sept. 4, a special Teletoon Retro hour will air every evening at 7:30 pm ET/PT to promote the launch.
Joe Strike sheds some light on what distributors are looking for when they go out searching for animation to acquire.
Shari Weisenberg joins SCI FI Channel in the newly created position of vp, strategic marketing, to lead all sales marketing initiatives for the SCI FI brand. Her appointment signals the Channel's commitment to leveraging its multimedia assets to maximize the reach and impact of all sponsor messaging.
Disney Channel won the award for the Best Children's Channel at the Broadcast Digital Channel Awards held June 6, 2007, in London, as it beat off competition from CBeebies, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr and CITV, which were also short listed for the award.
Sony Pictures Television Int'l (SPTI) announced that its anime channel, Animax, is set to launch in Germany. The announcement was made following the signing of an agreement with Unity Media, the first distribution partner for Animax in the country. The channel will commence broadcasting from early June 2007 and will be available to digital pay-tv subscribers in the German regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, which have more than five million cable households. Further roll out of the channel through other distribution partners is to follow over the coming months.
Turner Broadcasting is making changes to its portfolio of kids' channels in the U.K., which is comprised of Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami, Cartoon Network Too and Boomerang +1. On May 24, 2007, Toonami will change into Cartoon Network Too, available across Sky (602), Tiscali TV, Virgin TV and Top Up TV. Cartoon Network Too will feature the very best Toonami shows alongside current Cartoon Network favorites.
Meanwhile, Cartoonito, the preschool block that airs daily on Cartoon Network Too between 6:00 am and 3:00 pm will become a full preschool channel.
Chiller, NBC Universal's new channel, screams into its March 1, 2007, debut chock-full of horror and thriller television series and feature films ranging from TALES FROM THE CRYPT and TWIN PEAKS to THE SHINING and PSYCHO. Chiller is the only 24/7 entertainment cable channel dedicated to the popular horror genre, and events are planned throughout Chiller's first two months to showcase its programming. As previously announced, Chiller will be available to more than 16 million DIRECTV subscribers and will be located on channel 257.
The MASTERS OF HORROR 13-episode series will be wrapping up on Showtime with THE WASHINGTONIANS, directed by Peter Medak (THE CHANGELING) to debut Jan. 26, 2007, at 10:00 pm, with repeats through the following Tuesday and the 13th story, DREAM CRUISE, directed by Norio Tsuruta (RINGU 0: BÂSUDEI, PREMONITION), to bow Feb. 2 at 10:00 pm.
Channel Frederator (www.channelfrederator.com), the world's original cartoon podcast, announced the winners of its First Annual Channel Frederator Awards. The awards, which mark the one-year celebration of Channel Frederator's cartoon podcasting, are the first of their kind to honor the films and filmmakers in the rapidly growing category of user submitted and user generated video on the Internet.
The MASTERS OF HORROR series continues on Showtime in Jan. 2007 with WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE SCREAM, directed by Tom Holland (FRIGHT NIGHT, CHILD'S PLAY) to debut Jan. 12 at 10:00 pm with repeats through the following Tuesday.
Disney Channel in Europe announced plans to ramp up its investment in original programming and local co-productions by opening a "London hub" to headquarter its expansion plans and develop long- and short-form programming geared to kids worldwide.
On Jan. 24, 2007, Channel Frederator (www.channelfrederator.com) will present "The Freddies," Channel Frederator's first annual awards ceremony. Held at Cinespace in Hollywood, the awards will recognize a wide array of achievements seen on Channel Frederator's weekly podcasts throughout the year. The awards, which range from "Cartoon of the Year" to "Cartoon Most Likely to be Censored by the FCC," will be distributed in the form of an eight-inch replica of Joe Robot, the spokesrobot for Channel Frederator.
RHI Ent. and the SCI FI Channel announced today (Oct. 24, 2006) a production deal for an action-packed slate of 10 television movies to be delivered in 2007.
The agreement includes basic cable-TV rights for RHI Ent.s new horror-thriller projects, including GRIZZLY RAGE, MANEATER, EYE OF THE BEAST, BLOOD MONKEY and IN THE SPIDERS WEB.
Exposure World Wide WebOct. 23, 2006 Dec. 17, 2006Deadline: Nov. 20, 3006
In an unprecedented campaign to turn the spotlight on the countrys best independent, makers of short films, SCI FI Channel, in conjunction with Sundance Channel, will be launching Exposure, an eight-week short film competition that will allow the online community of both websites to crown cinemas next master.
Sony Pictures Television Intl (SPTI) and Minimax, one of the leading childrens TV channels in Central Europe, announced SPTIs acquisition of A+, a dedicated channel for anime programming that airs on Minimax in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The channel will be part of SPTIs international networks group, which includes more than 45 channels around the world.
SCI FI Channel has launch a new Visions for Tomorrow public affairs initiative set to champion a bold, optimistic view of the future and is predicated on the belief that individuals can have a positive impact on the human condition. What began as a two-day SCI FI Channel management off-site in the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California in May 2004 has become the inspiration for SCI FIs ambitious new public affairs campaign, which is comprised of public service announcements, educational outreach, nonprofit advocacy efforts and an illustrious advisory board.
Barcelona-based entertainment production and distribution company Neptuno Films and the Spanish-based Portal Latino, a subsidiary of Sociedad Digital de Autores y Editores SDAE, have joined forces to greenlight a new IPTV kids channel in Spain named El Gato Feliz (Happy Cat).
The channel will be launched Sept. 28, 2006, and will reach subscribers of Orange for their telephony, Iternet and IPTV new television services in Spain.
Zee Kannada, the Kannada entertainment channel from Zee Network, is looking into animation to beef up its weekend schedule. To start, the channel will telecast the animation film, SIDDHI VINAYAKA on Aug. 27, 2006 at 10:00 am.
"We chose to telecast this particular movie because of the auspicious occasion, Ganesh Chaturthi. We have the intention to explore this genre aggressively," said Zee Kannada business head Venkat Giridhar.
BBC Worldwide Americas has licensed a second season of DOCTOR WHO to SCI FI kicking off with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 29, 2006, that will include the Christmas Invasion special in which David Tennant (HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE) was introduced as the 10th Time Lord.
The Doctor returns with his feisty young companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), and together they will travel through time and space battling new and returning aliens and monsters.
SCI FI Channel has acquired the rights to STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, the STAR TREK prequel series, as well as many made-for-television movies and series from CBS Paramount Domestic Television. The deal includes exclusive cable rights to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, several Stephen King miniseries, made-for-TV movies including PRIMAL FORCE and TRILOGY OF TERROR II and series such as HAUNTED, JAKE 2.0 and last fall's THRESHOLD.
