Cable programming deals inked during Jornadas

By VARIETY STAFF

Only two days into Latin America's most important cable trade show, the Argentine Jornadas, programmer announcements were as hot as the sticky 90-degree weather in the capital.

MGM Gold, a movie classics channel from the eponymous Hollywood studio, unveiled "El Reino de Entretenimiento," a round-the-clock service to be launched in Brazil next month and shortly thereafter throughout Latin America.

New discoveries

Britain's BBC and its partner the U.S.-based Discovery Channel unveiled the launch in Argentina of their Animal Planet and People and Arts channels. BBC will also supply an entertainment channel to the country, having already inked a deal with MSO CableVision-TCI.

Fox Sports Americas, a spinoff of Rupert Murdoch's sports channels in the U.S., inked a co-production agreement with local producer Torneos & Competencias for four new sports programs.

Online news

CBS signed a deal with StarMedia to broadcast an online 24 hour Spanish news service.

Local programmer Cinecanal announced the launching of a pay channel called Movie City for Argentina, which will be available at the beginning of the year when the country's operators have encryption equipment.