KidsCo, the joint venture channel owned by NBC Universal, Cookie Jar Group and Corus Entertainment, has launched in Germany after it entered into an agreement with local cable operator, Unitymedia. The channel will broadcast a raft of educational programming and family movies.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced an agreement with SKY Italia for the broadcast rights within Italy for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016. SKY Italia will also be the broadcaster for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games. SKY Italia, Italy's leading digital satellite […]

From Colin Mann in Cannes YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has called on broadcasters to work with the online video community to extend their reach and develop business models. Delivering a MIPCOM keynote speech on Managing Content in the Internet Age, Hurley told delegates: "We want to continue to be your partner and continue to work […]

From Colin Mann in Cannes Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman has identified new media as an area where the company was breaking new ground but stressed that the content had to come first, not the means by which it was distributed. “Our focus is on utilising digital platforms not to replace the TV experience but to […]

Legal music downloads have outstripped pirated tracks for the first time in the UK, according to a survey by Entertainment Media Research (EMR). The EMR survey of 1,500 consumers found that 51% legally purchased digital downloads. It’s the first time this figure outweighed the number of those who download illegally, which fell to 39% from […]

Premiere's chief marketing officer Oliver Kaltner is leaving the pay-TV operation after just three months in post. In a statement, Premiere said the Supervisory Board had accepted his resignation with immediate effect."I decided to leave Premiere immediately. It has been a very difficult decision for me leaving the company after just three months. I wish […]

Orange announced the details of the five new channels that are set to launch in France on November 13th as part of the Orange cinéma séries. The new channels include a main “feature film” channel, Orange cinemax, which is available in HD and includes the best of recent films and TV series shown for the […]

Three US copyright judges have imposed a truce between songwriters, music labels and digital music services such as Apple's iTunes store by keeping royalties on CDs, downloads, online streaming services and ringtones broadly unchanged. The ruling from the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington gave none of the parties what they had asked for but allowed […]

RealNetworks and major film studios are off in a legal battle over a new product allowing consumers to make computer copies of DVDs that the studios claim is illegal. "RealNetworks’ RealDVD should be called StealDVD," Greg Goeckner, executive vice president and general counsel for the MPAA. "RealNetworks knows its product violates the law and undermines […]

Disney-backed sports broadcaster ESPN is to rebrand its European pay TV channel, North American Sports Network (NASN), as ESPN America.Disney said that the rebrand, due to coincide with the Super Bowl in the US on 1 February, 2009, will not change the channel’s programming. The rebrand follows ESPN’s acquisition of NASN in December 2006 from […]