Syndie Insider

NBC Enterprises and MGM Studios have renewed their international distribution agreement for the next four years, the two said last week at NATPE in New Orleans. The deal gives MGM the right to handle all the international sales and distribution of NBC programs, such as prime time shows Boomtown, American Dreams, Hidden Hills, Will & Grace and Crossing Jordan; mid-season drama Kingpin; and daytime drama Passions.

Buena Vista Televison's Who Wants To Be a Millionaire will find its first million-dollar winner during February sweeps and will host three theme weeks. Feb. 3-7 will be "College Week," which will feature students from such colleges as Harvard University, Pennsylvania State University and Tuskegee University. Feb. 17-21 will be "Twins Week," and, Feb. 24-28, the show will spotlight its hometown with "New York Week," featuring all-New York guests and audiences.

Starz Encore Group has licensed several films and series from Universal Domestic Television and Buena Vista Pay Television Sales to air on three of its channels: Westerns, Wam! and Starz! Cinema. The programs also will be available for viewing on subscription video-on-demand service Starz On Demand. From UDT, the network has purchased films Cookie's Fortune, Secrets & Lies, Topsy Turvy and The Apostle for its Starz! Cinema channel. Wam! will get Young Hercules and Weird Science. Westerns gets the rights to Alias Smith and Jones, a TV series from the early 1970s. From Buena Vista, Starz has picked up many classic films from the David O. Selznick library, including Duel in the Sun and Intermezzo. It also bought the rights to Notorious, Rebecca, Spellbound and The Paradine Case.

Digital cable and satellite network Chronicle DTV last week signed a programming acquisition deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, according to Rick Blume, the channel's president. The deal includes feature-length programming from Warner Bros., as well as content from AOL Time Warner-owned Turner Productions and CNN.