* L.A.-based distributor Program Partners (Da Vinci’s Inquest, Cold Squad) has picked up Degrassi: The Next Generation for broadcast syndication in the U.S., again via its partnership with Thunderbird Films in Vancouver.

* The Cartoon Networks of Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, plus Cartoon Network Too in the U.K., have bought the preschooler Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks (52 x 30) from Toronto’s CCI Entertainment.

* TSN has signed a two-year extension on its contract to air NBA games in Canada, starting this season.

* CBC, Radio-Canada and others have ordered a second season (40 x 10) of the preschooler stop-motion series Lunar Jim from DHX Media and Alliance Atlantis.

* Seville International has bought the world home video rights to the science doc How William Shatner Changed the World, by Handel Productions.

* Format broker Distraction has bought the two-minute, made-for-mobile sitcom Via Verdi from Einstein Multimedia and Italy’s Bobalone.

* PBS has picked up the hour-long seasonal special The Snow Queen from Amberwood Entertainment and its U.K. copro partner Total Eclipse Television.

* Breakthrough Entertainment has signed an output deal with European distributor Free Dolphin, followed by sales of its MOWs Cradle of Lies and The Road to Christmas.

* 9 Story Entertainment has presold its Flash series Best Ed (52 x 11) to the Cartoon Network in Europe, the U.K., Africa and the Middle East.

* Disney Channel has bought season one of This Is Emily Yeung, by marblemedia and Sinking Ship Entertainment, for its Playhouse preschooler block.