Toronto-based The Fight Network, a 24-hour specialty channel devoted to martial arts and unarmed combat sports, recently acquired the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights for Pro Elite Inc.’s EliteXC package of events. The agreement includes both live and tape-delayed feeds from Los Angeles-based Pro Elite’s series of tournaments, which kicked off on February 10 with a bout between Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie, both members of families that will be familiar to fans of the legendary Ultimate Fighting Championship events.
"This is excellent news for our viewers," said The Fight Network’s VP of programming, Brian Sobie, in a media release. "We have been looking to add ‘live’ premium [mixed martial arts] events to our line-up and I am very confident that the shows that EliteXC has planned out will connect soundly with our audiences." South of the border, EliteXC airs on the Showtime pay TV network.

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Leading US wireless telco Sprint Nextel has contracted Azcar Technologies Inc. of Toronto to provide training services at more than 900 television stations throughout the United States. The training will help Sprint Nextel and its US broadcast partners gear up for a spectrum relocation plan, mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, that will see the US broadcasters move from their current 1.9 GHz to 2.1 GHz operating spectrum to a new frequency, as well as replace existing studio and station hardware. Azcar’s work under the $6.1-million deal begins later this year and runs through 2008. The Canadian company is a technology integrator and consulting firm specializing in the telecommunications and broadcasting markets.

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On February 20 at 10:00 p.m. ET, CBC News: The Lens plays host to a documentary by up-and-coming filmmaker Tracey Deer titled Mohawk Girls. As a gritty and unsettling portrayal of what it means to be Aboriginal in 21st century Canada, Mohawk Girls tells the story of three girls on the Kahnawake Mohawk territory near Montreal over the course of a three-year period. The film, which won the 2005 Alanis Obomsawin prize for best documentary at Toronto’s ImagineNATIVE Aboriginal film festival, is a production of Outremont QC-based Rezolution Pictures and the National Film Board.

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Shortly after revealing that Franny’s Feet, its hit series for two-to-11-year olds, had been picked up by US public broadcaster PBS for a second season (see ccrbriefs, Jan.30/07), Halifax-based DHX Media Ltd. announced another coup in the form of a book deal with Penguin Group (USA) and Simon & Schuster. In exchange for exclusive print rights to the property, the two publishing houses will commit to a minimum royalty rate payable to DHX annually, starting next year. Grosset & Dunlap, Penguin’s division aimed at younger readers, will roll out storybooks, sticker books, lift-the-flap titles and other items based on Franny’s Feet in 2008, while Simon & Schuster will offer colouring and activity books, also beginning next year.

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SHIFTV Inc., a Toronto-based provider of targeted video content over broadband networks, has signed a deal with Naples FL-based Dominion Video Satellite Inc. to offer the latter’s Sky Angel Christian broadcasting service to Canadians. Sky Angel is a DTH broadcasting provider that offers 18 TV channels and 16 radio channels, all with a strong Christian or family-friendly bent. "We are pleased in becoming Sky Angel’s exclusive IPTV partner in Canada as it provides thousands of Canadians an opportunity to view Christian programming that is currently not offered through other broadcasters," said SHIFTV CEO Morley Chaplick in a release. "Sky Angel is a perfect partner in our ongoing strategy to provide programming to niche audiences on a reliable platform." The full gamut of Sky Angel’s programming will now be available to Canadians equipped with a SHIFTV/Sky Angel IPTV set-top box for $24.99 per month, plus a $20 initial set-up fee. Early-bird customers will also have that fee waived, and also receive two months’ service for free.

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TSN, Bell Canada and Toronto’s Bradford Productions have teamed up to create a new 6×30" series offering a behind-the-scenes look at the world of amateur sport. Hosted by Brian Williams, a veteran commentator and, according to TSN "the dean of amateur sports," Spirit of the Game looks at how amateur athletes train, find funding, and more. "Outside of Olympic years, amateur athletes receive little attention as compared to the professionals," said TSN president Phil King in a media release. "This series marks the beginning of our journey to Vancouver in 2010 by raising the profile of amateur sports in our country."
Spirit of the Game will delve into weighty issues such as doping and cheating in amateur sport and the logistical challenges of bidding for and hosting an Olympic Games through a mix of investigative journalism, panel discussions, full-length features, and more. The multiplatform production – which will draw on the main HD broadcast property as well as TSN HD, TSN Broadband and some form of mobile component – gets underway on Sunday, February 25 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

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Internet rebroadcaster JumpTV Inc. recently signed partnership agreements with 10 leading Web portals serving the Arabic-speaking world. The deal will see JumpTV’s channels promoted on those sites through the efforts of LINKdotNET, a division of communications giant Orascom Telecom Holding Co. of Egypt, which operates the top-rated MSN Arabia site among others. "The core element of this partnership revolves around the ability of LINKdotNET users to join the JumpTV community with one click," said JumpTV International president and CEO Kaleil Isaza Tuzman in a media release. "We are confident that this will significantly increase our baseline subscriber numbers and lower our subscriber acquisition costs."
JumpTV also announced that it had struck an agreement with Arpu+, another Orascom company, that will see the Canadian online rebroadcaster air more than 90 games annually from the Egyptian Football League, the Egyptian Football Cup, and the country’s national team.

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