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Global Showbiz Briefs: Corus, Telefilm Canada Pact; ITV Cooks With Gino D’Acampo; Izabella Wiley Joins A+E; More

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday June 11, 2013 @ 9:00pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Corus Entertainment, Global Showbiz Briefs, Starz

Corus, Telefilm Canada Create Fund For Family Movies
Corus Entertainment and Telefilm Canada have launched the Family Feature Production Fund to encourage the production of Canadian English-language live-action family movies for theatrical release. The fund will provide financing for as many as two films a year with budgets between $3.5M and $5M. The pilot initiative will be open to Canadian feature producers with a fully developed film script and a comprehensive plan for market viability. Corus and Telefilm will jointly evaluate the applications with Corus contributing financing, a broadcast commitment and marketing support from its portfolio of networks which includes Movie Central, W Movies and YTV.

ITV Series Will Follow Chef Gino D’Acampo Around Southern Italy
ITV Studios Daytime has been commissioned by ITV to produce Gino’s Italian Escape, a six-part series set in Southern Italy. The half-hour program will be presented by chef Gino D’Acampo who is known to local auds for his participation on ITV’s This Morning show. ITV Studios Global Entertainment, which is handling world sales, has also brokered a deal with Hodder & Stoughton for a cook book to accompany the series. For the lifestyle, travel and cooking series, D’Acampo will cross Southern Italy in search of the region’s best kept secrets. This is ITV Studios Daytime’s first factual commission for ITV primetime and will air in September.

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A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc Sets Her Top Management Team

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday June 3, 2013 @ 11:30am PDTTags: A&E Networks, Bob DeBitetto, History, Nancy Dubuc
Nellie Andreeva

Officially, Nancy Dubuc has been president and CEO of A+E Networks for two days, but she’s already putting her stamp on the company, setting top executives for each of the brands and launching an in-house studio. Under the plan, Bob DeBitetto, General Manager of A&E Networks and BIO, will transition to a new role of head of A+E Studios with a title of President, Brand Strategy, Business Development. He will be succeeded at the helm of A&E by his top lieutenant, David McKillop, EVP Programming, who is adding a general manger title. Dirk Hoogstra, who was promoted to EVP Development and Programming for History and H2 just three months ago, will now add the title of General Manager for the two channels. And as Dubuc moves away from day-to-day oversight of the networks to focus on her role as CEO, Lifetime’s EVP programming Robert Sharenow also is adding general manager responsibilities. Additionally, A+E Networks has officially tapped veteran BBC executive Jana Bennett to run LMN and Bio as president.

Related: BBC’s Jana Bennett To Run Bio And LMN Under Dubuc’s Plan

“These are the people who have led their teams to some of the biggest successes on television over the last two years, including Hatfields & McCoys, The Bible, Vikings, Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel, Storage Wars, Dance Moms, Client List and Steel Magnolias,” >Dubuc said. “I have had the honor to work with Bob, David, Rob and Dirk for a many years, and am thrilled that we are continuing this journey together. And I couldn’t be more excited that Jana is joining A+E Networks. She is an experienced industry veteran who knows how to build and grow brands and create long-running franchises.”

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‘Duck Dynasty’ Season Finale Shatters A&E Viewer Records, Season 4 Is A Go

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday April 25, 2013 @ 12:31pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Duck Dynasty, TV Ratings

The Season 3 finale of A&E Network‘s Duck Dynasty was watched by 9.6 million viewers last night, a record for the series and the network. Wednesday’s season ender was up 48% over the 6.5 million who watched the Season 2 finale on December 5, 2012. With a 4.3 rating, it was the highest-rated show on both cable and broadcast Wednesday, easily beating American Idol’s 3.2. Last night’s one-hour episode garnered 5.6 million viewers in adults 25-54, 5.5 million adults 18-49 and 2.6 million adults 18-34 to become the most-watched series telecast in A&E’s history in all demos. That is a 41% rise in 18-49 over last season’s finale and a 47% rise in 25-54. With those kind of numbers, it is no surprise A&E also announced today that production on a fourth season of Duck Dynasty is scheduled to start shortly. Despite a stand-off between the Robertson family cast and producers over money, the West Monroe, LA-based family all have existing deals and are expected to show up for filming of Season 4. As for their salary demands (an increase to as much as $200,000 an episode), a new agreement is being hammered out. Read More »

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Nancy Dubuc Elevated To President & CEO Of A+E Networks, Abbe Raven To Chairman

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday April 22, 2013 @ 12:59pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Abbe raven, Nancy Dubuc
Nellie Andreeva

Nancy Dubuc‘s meteoric rise continues. Seven months after she was named President, Entertainment and Media, A+E Networks, taking creative oversight of the entire cable group, Dubuc has now been named president and CEO of A+E Networks. She succeeds Abbe Raven, who is being elevated to Chairman, A+E Networks. The promotions come as A+E networks continue to deliver blockbuster ratings, most recently with History’s The Bible and Vikings and A&E’s Duck Dynasty.

Effective June 1, 2013, Dubuc will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company with the brand groups and business divisions reporting to her. Raven will be in charge of A+E Networks’ long-term business and revenue opportunities, as well as public policy initiatives, and serve as corporate strategic adviser. Raven will report directly to the company’s Board led by Anne Sweeney, president, Disney/ABC Television Group, and Steven Swartz, president & COO, Hearst Corp. Dubuc will report both to Raven and the Board. “Abbe and Nancy have enjoyed one of the most successful partnerships in our business. Together, over the last several years, they have built some of the strongest brands in media, Sweeney and Swartz said jointly. “We look forward to the company’s next chapter as Abbe becomes chairman and Nancy steps into her expanded new role as president and CEO and leads the company into the future”. Read More »

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Hot TV Clip: First 6 Minutes Of ‘Bates Motel’

By JEN YAMATO | Monday March 11, 2013 @ 10:41am PDTTags: A&E Networks, Bates Motel, SXSW

Ahead of A&E‘s Bates Motel panel at SXSW, where Carlton Cuse just described the show as “One part Friday Night Lights, one part Lost, [and] one part Twin Peaks“, … Read More »

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Amazon Prime Lands A+E Networks Shows

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday January 4, 2013 @ 7:36am PSTTags: A&E Networks, Amazon Prime

Here you go, fans of Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and Dance Moms: A+E Networks programming — including some unscripted series that Netflix dropped last fall — will be available to people who pay $79 a year for Amazon’s Prime … Read More »

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Global Showbiz Briefs: A+E Names Intl. VP, Singapore Bans Film

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday November 19, 2012 @ 12:15am PSTTags: A&E Networks, Back To 1942, Global Showbiz Briefs, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues

A+E Names Sally Habbershaw International VP
Sally Habbershaw has joined A+E Networks as VP international programming, production and operations. Based in New York, Habbershaw will manage teams responsible for those areas and oversee the A+E Networks program catalog. She will also be expected to help boost ratings and launch new channel brands. Habbershaw reports to Christian Murphy, SVP international programming and marketing. Habbershaw joins A+E Networks from AMC Networks where she was VP of acquisitions, scheduling and promotions at Sundance and WE Global. Prior to that she worked for Viacom as director of development for VH1 in the U.S. and as VP general manager for VH1 UK in London. Read More »

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Nancy Dubuc Promoted At A+E Networks; Will Oversee All Networks, Including A&E

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday September 13, 2012 @ 2:53pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Nancy Dubuc
Nellie Andreeva

Nancy Dubuc‘s star continues to rise at A+E Networks. After adding Lifetime to her History purview following the female-centered network’s 2010 acquisition, Dubuc is now expanding even further her portfolio and will oversee all A+E Networks — including A&E Network and BIO. Her new title is President, Entertainment and Media, A+E Networks. Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E Network and BIO, and EVPs Dan Suratt and Steve Ronson will now report to her. Once A+E Networks’ flagship network, A&E has been overtaken in the ratings by upstart History, which has been on an upswing, finishing last year as the fifth-most-watched basic cable network. Meanwhile, after some growing pains, Lifetime has started to move the ratings needle in a positive direction, up year-to-year in total viewers and all key demos. Here is the release: Read More »

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A&E, Ice-T Sued In ‘Peacemaker’ Dispute

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday August 17, 2012 @ 6:15pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Ice-T

A&E Networks and Ice-T have been sued by Roy Colbert of Los Angeles who alleges they used his idea for a TV docu-drama about gangs. Colbert’s suit, filed today in LA Superior Court, contends A&E and Ice-T breached … Read More »

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Lionsgate Picks Up Distribution Rights For A&E Networks Home Videos

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday August 10, 2012 @ 3:01pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Big Deals Film, Lionsgate

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer mentioned the arrangement so matter-of-factly in his conference call with analysts this morning that I almost missed the fact that this is brand new: Beginning in January the studio will handle domestic distribution of DVD and Blu-ray discs for about 2,000 original shows and movies from A&E, Lifetime, and the History Channel as well as programming from A&E’s partnerships with Major League Baseball and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The arrangement brings Lionsgate’s video distribution library to 15,000 movies and TV episodes with titles including the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series starring Colin Firth, Homicide: Life On The Street, reality shows such as Storage Wars, Shipping Wars, and Duck Dynasty, and MLB’s annual World Series film. The titles had been handled by New Video Group, which was recently acquired by Cinedigm. The company says that it’s concentrating on digital distribution and decided that handling the discs “did not make strategic or financial sense for us.” Read More »

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NBCU To Collect $3.025B For Its 15.8% Stake In A&E

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday July 10, 2012 @ 6:26am PDTTags: A&E Networks, Comcast, Disney, NBCUniversal

The payment, agreed to yesterday, tops the number thrown around last week of $2.8B. It will be made in cash, Comcast (which controls NBCUniversal) says in an SEC filing this morning. It adds, though, that “under … Read More »

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A&E’s ‘Longmire’ Renewed For Season 2

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday June 29, 2012 @ 3:22pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Longmire
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Four weeks into its freshman run, I’ve learned that A&E’s new drama series Longmire has been renewed for a second season. The Western-flavored series starring Robert Taylor and Katee Sackhoff premiered with 4.1 million total viewers … Read More »

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A&E TV Networks CEO Abbe Raven Takes Shots At Cable Rivals In Upfront Speech

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 9, 2012 @ 3:01pm PDTTags: A&E Networks
Nellie Andreeva

At A&E Television Networks‘ upfront presentation in New York, which is going on right now, the company’s president and CEO Abbe Raven spiced up her speech to advertisers with some snipes at competing networks, including TBS, Discovery Channel, … Read More »

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Comcast- NBCU Selling A&E Networks Stake

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 4, 2012 @ 9:57pm PDTTags: A&E Networks, Big Deals TV, NBCUniversal
Nellie Andreeva

Three years after NBCUniversal’s stake in A&E Television Networks was diluted following the addition of Lifetime, NBCUniversal is cashing out to the tune of several billion dollars. Industry sources I’ve spoken with indicate that NBCU would likely part with its entire stake in the partnership in a deal that is estimated at more than $2 billion – as much as twice that amount. According to a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission by NBCU parent Comcast obtained by The Wall Street Journal, NBCU on March 26 exercised an option to sell “a substantial portion” of its stake in A&E TV Networks to its joint-venture partners, the Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp. Hearst and Disney initially owned 37.5% of A&E TV Networks, and NBCU held a 25% stake. When Lifetime, a 50-50 partnership between Hearst and Disney, was folded into A&E TV Networks in 2009, Disney and Hearst’s ownership increased to about 42.1% each, while NBCU’s dropped to 15.8%. Read More »

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A+E And Scripps Networks Join Group Studying Ways To Revamp TV Ratings

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday September 7, 2011 @ 7:49am PDTTags: A&E Networks, Scripps Networks

Add two more influential cable programmers to the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement — an initiative by Big Media and advertisers that hopes to update TV ratings system to account for viewing on new platforms including smartphones. The group is supported by heavyweights including AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Discovery, Disney, News Corp, Procter & Gamble, Starcom MediaVest, Time Warner, and Viacom.

NEW YORK, NY – September 7, 2011 – The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM / cimm-us.org), today announced that A+E Networks and Scripps Networks LLC are the newest members of the industry alliance focused on finding the best ways to measure changing media audiences.

“The combination of rapid technology advancements and shifting consumer behavior is quickly changing the media landscape in how we consume media and how we measure that consumption,” said Mike Greco, EVP Research, A+E Networks. “It’s critical that the industry comes together to map our best practice and leverage new insights and innovations. We are extremely excited to be partnering with media companies and advertisers through CIMM to activate new tools and insights into our businesses.”

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A&E Orders House-Flipping Series With ‘Survivor’ Star Russell Hantz

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday May 16, 2011 @ 8:06am PDTTags: A&E Networks, TV Series

A&E announced today that it has ordered seven one-hour episodes of Flipped, which stars former Survivor bad guy Russell Hantz and his family around Houston as they attempt to buy houses at low prices, renovate and sell for a profit. … Read More »

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Exclusive Video Of History’s Cancelled ‘Kennedys’ Mini, Which Now Eyes Showtime

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 7, 2011 @ 6:20pm PSTTags: A&E Networks, Cable TV, Greg Kinnear, History Channel, History Channel The Kennedys, Joel Surnow, Katie Holmes, Showtime The Kennedys, The Kennedys, The Kennedys Miniseries, The Kennedys Miniseries Cancelled, TV, Video
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE: Muse Entertainment and Asylum Entertainment, who co-produce The Kennedys, just issued the following statement about the mini-series’ cancellation by History: “We are proud of the work all of our talent put into the making of The Kennedys and the painstaking efforts that went into creating a drama that is … Read More »

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