Rahart Adams (Nowhere Boys) has landed a series regular role in Nickelodeon’s, Every Witch Way. It centers on a teenage girl who deals with moving to a new town, growing up and falling in love, all while realizing that she’s a witch. Adams, repped by Intellectual Artists Management and Triple Talent Management in Australia, will play Jax, a rebel wizard who uses his powers every chance he gets and is willing to do anything to get what he wants.

Twitch, Crytek and Amazon confirmed as first speakers for Develop Conference 2014

Nine of the biggest brands in the games industry have signed-up to speak at this year's Develop Conference in Brighton.

Leading the new speakers is Twitch, as regional director EMEA Stuart Saw will explore the live streaming phenomenon and how developers can maximise the potential of their games on the platform.

Nickelodeon's John Conlon will lead a discussion on the importance of utilising the second screen, how they're used at different ages and development stages and what it could mean for broadcasters and app developers.

Meanwhile, Boss Alien's Jason Avant will host a talk on how marketing is no longer something that happens outside of game development, but how gameplay itself has become a marketing tool to be taken seriously throughout the development process.

Elsewhere and other announced speaker will chair discussions on the hot topics of the development industry, including the rise of virtual reality, funding, new publishing methods and the psychology behind player interaction.

Also new for this year's Develop Conference is a marketing track, free indie Boot Camp session and the inaugural Develop Game Jam.

"Games development is going through an exciting era of innovation and creativity," said Andy Lane, managing director of Develop in Brighton organiser Tandem Events.

"From producing exciting and compelling content for new technology such as VR or next gen consoles to the increasing importance the role of the indie developer plays on the industry, there's a lot to get excited about in 2014."

"As always, Develop in Brighton will provide top class content designed to help developers from all spectrums of the industry. And being in Brighton also makes it a fantastic place for networking and sharing experiences with fellow developers which is always invaluable."

This year's Develop Conference in Brighton takes place from July 8th to 10th at the Hilton Metropole. It kicks off with the Evolve Conference on July 8th and continues with the Develop Conference, Expo, Indie Showcase, Indie Dev Day, Boot Camp and Audio track throughout July 9th and 10th.

A full list of the confirmed sessions and speakers for the Develop Conference 2014 can be found below.

EVOLVE

What Second Screens Really Mean
John Conlon, Nickelodeon

Creating 'Sherlock: The Network'
David Varela, Freelance/The Project Factory

Designing for Virtual Reality
Patrick O'Luanaigh, nDreams

ART

Super Sleep Fighter II : Hyper Edition
Gavin Strange, Aardman Studios

The You: Designing Tearaway around the Player
Rex Crowle, Media Molecule

AUDIO

Total Immersion: Music and Sound in The Chinese Room
Jessica Curry & Dan Pinchbeck, The Chinese Room

Panel: AAA Audio Attitude for Tablet and Mobile
Chair: John Broomhall

BUSINESS

Indie Spirit, Under Control
Roberta Lucca, Bossa & Siobhan Reddy, Media Molecule

Three Years an Indie - An Adventure from Boxes to Clouds
Nick Baynes

23 Simple Steps for Publishing on PlayStation
Rob Clarke, Curve Digital

CODING

Game AI vs Real AI
Richard Evans, Versu

Lessons Learnt from Making a Hit Mobile Game with Unity 3D
David Jefferies, PaperSeven

Coding a Maya Production Pipeline with MetaData
Mark Jackson, Crytek

DESIGN

Why User Experience Design is a Must for Games?
Ella Romanos

Practical Advice for Turning a Promising Idea into an Award Winning Game
Kirsty Rigden, FuturLab Limited

Connected Audience: Practical Lessons on Twitch & Sharing
Claire Blackshaw, Climax Studios

INDIE

Failing and Learning to be an Indie
Mike Bithell, Independent Developer

Tango Fiesta: From Indie Dream To Published on Steam
Andrew Smith, Spilt Milk Studios

How Publishers Help Indie Devs Tackle the Freemium Conundrum
Ed Rumley, Chillingo

Indie Bootcamp

Why Being Indie Means Business
Simon Bennett, Roll7

Blast Off: How to Get a Game Startup Off the Ground
Russ Clarke, West London Games

How to Build a One Man Band
Nicoll Hunt, I Fight Bears

MARKETING

Being Mike Bithell - The Best Way to Develop Your PR Alongside Your Game
Simon Byron, Premier

How to Maximise a Games Streaming Potential
Stuart Saw, Twitch

The Business of Designing Games
Jason Avent, Boss Alien

Production

Player Driven Development – 10 Ways to Leverage Your Community to Give Them a Better Game
Phil Mansell, Jagex Game Studios

Managing the Creative Process for a AAA Production
Sebastien Ebacher, Ubisoft Montreal

Remote Work the Indie Way
Eduardo Jimenez, Eclipse Games

TAGS: speakers , crytek , amazon , develop in brighton , sessions , Twitch , Develop Conference 2014

Brand New Series: Mia & me
The adventure begins Saturday, May 3rd @ 7pm EST on Nick Jr!

Someone, or should we say a group of your toddlers favourite characters are back with BRAND NEW episodes this week! Can you guess the show? - Monday 28th April 2014

You guessed it! We've got brand new episodes of #PAWPatrol this week! Bet your little ones will be just as excited as we are! - Tuesday 29th April 2014

If new episodes of #PAWPatrol wasn't enough, we've also got NEW episodes of #ZackandQuack THIS Friday at 4:45pm! - 29/4/2014.

Nickelodeon Greenlights TV Series 'ReactToThat' from YouTube's Fine Bros.

Nickelodeon has placed a 13-episode order for “ReactToThat” from YouTube comedy team The Fine Bros., based on their popular web franchise showing kids responding to viral videos.

Nick will air the show later in 2014. The brothers, Benny and Rafi Fine, are working with actor-comedian-rapper Nick Cannon on the TV adaptation through his Ncredible Entertainment production company. Cannon and the Fine Bros. also are working on a pilot for the Sundance Channel that’s a pop-culture riff on the “React” format.

The Fine Bros., who are affiliated with YouTube multichannel network Fullscreen, run one the biggest channels on the website, with 8.1 million subscribers and 1.58 billion video views to date.

Nickelodeon previously has procured programming based on YouTube material, including a half-hour sketch-comedy show last year from DreamWorks Animation's AwesomenessTV and projects with Lucas Cruikshank (creator of the Fred Figglehorn character).

In late 2013, the Fine Bros. struck a deal with Fullscreen, which is funding production of new content from the duo, including an untitled feature film.

“ReactToThat” exec producers are Nick Cannon, Michael Goldman, Benny and Rafi Fine, and Max Benator, who is the Fine Bros.’s manager. The Fine Bros. are repped by WME.

FILED UNDER: Fine Bros., Nickelodeon, Youtube

Richard Desmond to announce sale of Channel 5 to US broadcaster Viacom

Owner of MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central channels is expected to pay as much as £450m for Channel 5

Richard Desmond is poised to announce the sale of Channel 5 to the US broadcaster that owns MTV for as much as £450m.

The US broadcaster, which owns channels including Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, is expected to announce the deal to the New York stock market on Thursday or Friday at the latest.

The deal is short of the typically aggressive £700m-plus target originally set by Desmond, the owner of the Daily Express and Daily Star.

But it nonetheless makes for a significant profit on the £103.5m he paid to buy the then loss-making Channel 5 from the German broadcaster RTL in 2010.

It is not clear what Viacom will do with Channel 5's £350m-a-year TV ad sales business. But it is thought likely that it will involve Rupert Murdoch's Sky.

BSkyB handles the TV ad sales in the UK for Viacom – the US broadcaster is Sky Media's biggest customer – and it is most likely to incorporate Channel 5's sales into its existing deal.

Desmond based his valuation on 10 times anticipated profits of £70m this year, but a number of analysts had set a top end valuation of £400m to £500m.

The deal would allow the US pay-TV company to make a major move into free-to-air television in the UK.

In the UK it has moved into commissioning more original, homegrown shows for its key channels MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Viacom has invested heavily in entertainment, reality and children's television, which would make it a good fit for Channel 5.

It makes shows such as MTV's structured reality series Geordie Shore – which made a star of Charlotte Crosby, who went on to win Channel 5's Celebrity Big Brother.

In addition, along with Channel 5, Viacom invested in Peppa Pig via Nick Jr, which airs on Channel 5's children's segment Milkshake and on Nick Jr.

Channel 5 shows include the US drama imports CSI and The Mentalist, Edie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers, The Hotel Inspector and Extreme Fishing with Robson Green.

The broadcaster's children's strand Milkshake features shows including Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Thomas & Friends.

Channel 5 has six channels – the flagship Channel 5, 5* and 5 USA, and a +1, one-hour time-shifted variant for each – some of which could be converted to pay services.

Rivals including BSkyB and Discovery, which was considered the frontrunner to buy Channel 5, have expanded their operations into the free-to-air market.

Viacom declined to comment. Northern & Shell, Channel 5's parent company, said no deal had yet been concluded.

Analysis: Viacom's C5 strategy under the microscope

Viacom believes the Channel 5 brand has huge potential and that it can grow its share by investing in original content.

The C5 brand will be retained by Viacom, which believes it can supercharge the broadcaster’s existing momentum.

VIMN chief executive Bob Bakish and VIMN UK managing director David Lynn sent C5 staff a reassuring “business as usual” earlier today, and it is not expected to usher in any sudden strategy or personnel changes.

It is thought that Viacom has plenty of admiration for the job done by C5’s management team and is inclined to retain the likes of Ben Frow, currently C5 director of programmes. It will also look to secure key C5 programming brands, most notably Big Brother.

There is a general expectation that Viacom will spend more on originations than Northern & Shell has in recent years.

While there are no guarantees, the toe-in-the-water commissioning strategies for channels such as Comedy Central make more economic sense if they are supplemented by a major free-to-air network.

Viacom plans to leverage that increased investment by playing content it orders for Channel 5 on its other stations around the world, including in the US.

While the £450m deal may not be financially transformative for a company of Viacom’s vast scale, strategically it is hugely significant.

Viacom has free-to air-assets in some major territories, including Nickelodeon in Germany and Paramount Channel in Spain, but it is primarily a pay operator and does not own a mainstream general entertainment channel akin to Channel 5.

It has been widely expected that Sky Media will take over the C5 sales account, and while this remains a possibility, it is not a foregone conclusion.

It is thought that Viacom has been impressed by C5’s in-house sales division and changes are unlikely in the short term. Viacom could choose to hand sales for its 20 UK pay channels to the C5 division, to sell across pay and free-to-air.

It is not yet clear whether Viacom will look to relocate C5 to its Camden headquarters.

AWESOMENESSTV Premieres Monday, May 5th!! from Elizabeth Cain on Vimeo.

Nickelodeon’s AwesomenessTV kicks off its second season on Monday, May 5, at 8:00p.m. (ET/PT) with special hosts Jack Griffo and Kira Kosarin, stars of The Thundermans. Don’t miss new pranks, character sketches and parodies of popular music videos. All-new episodes premiere every Monday night at 8:00p.m. (ET/PT) and are sure to be filled with fast-paced unpredictable sketch comedy! Guest hosts this season include 5 Seconds of Summer, Rixton, Fifth Harmony, Emblem3, Smosh and more!

The Thundermans "Pretty Little Choirs" Saturday, May 3 from Elizabeth Cain on Vimeo.

Before the return of AwesomenessTV, watch Jack and Kira in brand-new back-to-back episodes of The Thundermans on Saturday, May 3, beginning at 8:00p.m. ET/PT. In the premiere of “Pretty Little Choirs,” a mean girl named Veronica sabotages Phoebe in choir and then takes advantage of Max by making him do her homework for her. Once they realize what has happened, the twins team up get even with her. The action continues in “Paging Dr. Thunderman” where Max and Phoebe take Billy to the hospital when he hurts his thumb while they are babysitting him. After Max sees a needle and faints, they all must make sure the doctors don’t see his brain scan which can expose their powers.

The Thundermans “Paging Dr. Thunderman” Saturday, May 3 from Elizabeth Cain on Vimeo.

Before the return of AwesomenessTV, watch Jack and Kira in brand-new back-to-back episodes of The Thundermans on Saturday, May 3, beginning at 8:00p.m. ET/PT. In the premiere of “Pretty Little Choirs,” a mean girl named Veronica sabotages Phoebe in choir and then takes advantage of Max by making him do her homework for her. Once they realize what has happened, the twins team up get even with her. The action continues in “Paging Dr. Thunderman” where Max and Phoebe take Billy to the hospital when he hurts his thumb while they are babysitting him. After Max sees a needle and faints, they all must make sure the doctors don’t see his brain scan which can expose their powers.

Lily's Driftwood Bay, Nickelodeon

There was no room for compromise on a series crafted from objects found on the beach, says Colin Williams

When I first pitched the show that became Lily's Driftwood Bay, broadcasters asked what its touchpoint was. I struggled to find comparisons. It's a mixed-media show in which everything you see on screen – sets, props, characters, you name it – has been crafted from things found washed up on the beach.

But underneath the unique design, it's a show about what it means to live in a community of inter-generational relationships. Ultimately, it's telling stories about life.

Lily is a five-year-old who lives a simple, organic existence with her dad in a beach hut on the shore. He's a woodcarver who sells his creations at the market every Saturday to buy food.

Being a dad to a young daughter, I wanted to celebrate this special relationship, which is rarely seen on screen.

Across the way is Driftwood Bay, an amazing island community of friends of all ages. Every day when a new treasure is washed up by the sea, Lily and her best friend Gull go on an imaginary adventure to the island with it.

Every producer knows that with tariffs being squeezed, compromise is often the only way to get a show made.

But I believed this show was special and committed at the outset to stand my ground on story, design and music.

When I shopped an early trailer for the show three years ago, we received many co-production offers. One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make was to turn down a handsome commission. It would've closed our finance gap and kicked off production, but I knew that the real cost would have been shared creative control with a foreign broadcaster.

We eventually funded the show by pre-selling it as an acquisition to 20 territories and bringing in The Jim Henson Company to handle further distribution. Northern Ireland Screen, a long-time supporter, came in with production funding, and although it took longer than I had hoped, we got the greenlight with no compromises.

I wanted to avoid the familiar stories of caring and sharing and instead tell stories about the world and life around Lily – her community, her environment and her relationships.

She's not a prim princess who is never in the wrong. She often messes up and causes confusion and upset to others around her, just like the rest of us. It's real life, and I wanted us to tell stories of real life – like jealously, selfishness, love, birth and death.

Five-year journey

The journey started five years ago when artist Joanne Carmichael got in touch with me. She was selling simple pictures in her local art gallery on the Isle of Arran, which she had made from bits of pottery and seaglass found washed up on the local beach. I immediately fell in love with the idea and began to think about creating a complex world made from things washed up by the sea.

At the outset, I set some design rules. We could adjust the colour and size of the objects, but not digitally manipulate them by twisting, bending or warping. When you look closely at each object, you can see the individual items that make it up.

The sound was created at the very start, alongside the organic look. The show had to sound like it looks and look like it sounds. I took influence from modern acoustic folk artists like Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling.

Every note is played by session players on guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, accordion, Hammond, harmonium, xylophone, marimba, pots and pans and more. It is 100% real.

I wanted the setting to be a real community of different accents and drew up a wishlist of actors who played comedy characters I adored: Ardal O'Hanlon, Stephen Fry, Annette Crosbie, Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks, Tameka Empson and Richard Dormer.

I never expected to get any of them – but they all fell in love with the show and said yes.

Creating Lily's Driftwood Bay has been the loveliest, most fulfilling, amazing – and exhausting – creative journey I have ever been on. It is a beautiful work of art and testament to a brilliant creative team of 100, every one of whom raised the bar to the highest level in story, character, casting, direction, design and score.

LILY'S DRIFTWOOD BAY: BREAKING NEW GROUND

Julie Gardner Head of production

We knew from the start we were breaking new ground. Colin wanted to create a show that looked like stop-motion using stones and ceramic fragments, which inherently would refuse to behave in a straightforward stop-motion way.

A pebble or a piece of driftwood might give the shape necessary for a character from one angle, but looked at from another, it might jar.

We couldn't achieve the look with stop-motion, so we had to photograph the beach finds from a range of angles, see what positions they would look right in, and work with those limitations.

How do you set up and manage a workflow that hasn't been done before? We looked to world-leading talents to advise us on animation techniques, software and production scheduling.

With that grounding, we were able to set up our in-house animation studio in Belfast and build a work able pipeline, which we shaped and refined as production progressed.

Last March, I battled through a blizzard to bring all 50,000 pieces of Joanne Carmichael's beach fragments from Scotland to Belfast in a transit van. In the studio workshop, all of the pieces were painstakingly sorted and individually photographed. Each one of these 50,000 pictures then had to be clipped in Photoshop, creating a huge library of digital materials.

The artwork was then digitally composited and rigged for our 12 animators to produce a style that is true to the handmade feel of cel animation.

Twelve months later, we've seen 26 episodes through to delivery and will deliver 26 more in July. We've deviated considerably from the original blueprint but have shaped a show, and a way of working, that is unique.