Dave Winfield has joined ESPN as a “Baseball Tonight” analyst, beginning April 5 on ESPN2. Mr. Winfield will work with host Karl Ravech and analysts Peter Gammons and John Kruk on Sundays and some Mondays during the Major League Baseball…
Cable’s FX has made a deal to license DreamWorks Animation motion pictures including “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.” The deal, made with distributor Paramount Pictures, includes all DreamWorks Animation releases through 2012, which would…
Fine Living Network has renewed “Whatever, Martha!” for a second season. Co-hosts Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt will return for 26 new episodes to provide their humorous take on vintage episodes of “Martha Stewart Living.” Rosie O’Donnell actually let…
PBS Kids Sprout is adding live-action puppet series “Mighty Jungle” starting on April 24, Multichannel News reports. The show features a meerkat named Babu, a gorilla called Bruce and a rhino named Rhonda, the trade paper says. —Aimee Picchi
Discovery Channel has ordered second seasons of five shows that have helped the network improve ratings, Multichannel News reports. The programs are “American Loggers,” “Destroyed in Seconds,” “How Stuff Works,” “Time Warp” and “Treasure Quest,” the publication says. —Aimee Picchi
Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes sent a memo to the company’s staff promising “a new era” after Time Warner Cable had its first trading session following its spinoff from the media company, the Hollywood Reporter says. “We’re committed to investing…
Lionsgate has sold “Crash,” “The Guard” and “Fear Itself” to French premium pay television service France Telecom-Orange, Daily Variety reports. The French TV service also bought “Life on Mars” from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, the trade paper says. —Aimee…
Mark Burnett Prods. and Lionsgate TV are joining to create a U.S. version of an Italian family talent show, Daily Variety reports. The show, called “Parenti talenti” in Italy, features families singing, dancing and performing comedy skits after receiving a…
ESPN has selected filmmakers Albert Maysles, Barry Levinson and Dan Klores to create short sports documentaries for its “30 by 30” project, Daily Variety reports. The project, which involves the creation of 30 hourlong sports programs that will air on…
The death of polygamist patriarch Roman Grant on the season finale of HBO’s “Big Love” was required to allow the show’s other characters to grow, co-creator Will Scheffer tells the Los Angeles Times. The death scene was kept secret by…