NEW DELHI: Jana Bennett, President Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer, today confirmed the network?s commitment to stage bold and ambitious global television events as she unveiled two new seasons for 2012 at MipTV.

London Calling and Planet Earth Live will run simultaneously across the BBC channels around the world, showcasing the very best of British programming and UK talent to the World.

As the eyes of the World turn to London this summer, the City of 2012 will be brought to life by the BBC through London Calling; a unique season of programmes that celebrate the music, fashion, art, culture and history of Britain?s capital city. The season will be led by live coverage from the spectacular Queen?s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Planet Earth Live is the biggest live wildlife broadcast ever undertaken by the BBC. It is an ambitious project which is the result of over ten years of innovation in techniques and formats at the BBC Natural History Unit. A unique and new project, it will bring real animals and their everyday dramas to a global audience in real time. Viewers will witness first-hand these incredible animals? struggle for survival in this animal soap opera, where nature writes the script.

Jana Bennett, said, ?By creating synchronised broadcasts, we unite our viewers around the world and give them a real appointment to view. Ours is the only network in the world which can deliver such massive global moments to an international audience and is what made our coverage of The Royal Wedding last year so successful. This year I want to go bigger and bolder.

?Planet Earth Live and London Calling will enable our audiences to feel part of a truly global viewing experience - whether it be witnessing the wonder of nature as it unfolds before them or revelling in the celebrations taking place across London without ever having to leave the comfort of their living room.?

The two new global events come hot on the heels of the first global viewing event of 2012 as BBC Worldwide gave an international stage to Sport Relief - one the UK?s biggest televised fundraising efforts. The special two week season culminated with Sport Relief Goes Global, a four-hour extravaganza featuring comedy highlights from the UK?s night of fundraising entertainment on BBC ONE.

London Calling will air between June and August on BBC Entertainment (India, Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Asia, Latin America and the channel?s pan-European service), BBC Knowledge (Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Italy, Asia and Australia), BBC HD (Latin America, Poland, The Nordic region and Turkey), UKTV (Australia and New Zealand) and BBC World News (global).

The season will also be available to users of BBC.com and to users of the global BBC iPlayer but will vary territory by territory.

Airing on BBC One in the UK, Planet Earth Live will air simultaneously4 to a global audience via BBC Knowledge (Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Poland, Italy, the Nordic Region) BBC Entertainment (India), BBC HD (Latin America) and in a selection of European countries on the global BBC iPlayer. The event excludes the US.

MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor FremantleMedia is showcasing entertainment formats, factual entertainment, exciting game shows and light-hearted comedy.

Competition is fierce as home cooks battle for the life-changing chance to have their original recipe turned into a sensational product for the nation?s supermarkets in Recipe to Riches, whilst in 1001 Things You Should Know contestants are challenged to test their ?common knowledge? as experts or celebrities quiz them on things that they really should know.

Big family format, Little Goliaths, pits adults against lofty benchmarks set by children in a range of unexpected challenges. Emotions run high in Help! My House is a Mess as an individual whose unhealthy compulsion to hoard gets the help they need to rebuild their lives and their homes. Fractured Families ? The Long Ride Home follows estranged parents and children as they undertake a tough adventure to re-build their damaged relationships. The gloves are on for original Japanese style game show The Boxing Glove, hidden camera fun and comedy antics are abound in Hit The Road Jack and family entertainment show Everyone Loves Animals spoofs the most recognised of TV formats, the news! Heritage shows Blockbusters, Man-O-Man and Play Your Cards Right round off FremantleMedia?s broad-based slate of international formats.

Trish Kinane, President of Worldwide Entertainment, FremantleMedia, said: "This is going to be another extremely exciting market and FremantleMedia?s MIPTV slate includes a strong line-up of fantastic new programmes in genres that continue to inspire audiences. We have a great mix of comedy, factual entertainment and game shows featuring some big new formats that are sure to make viewers laugh, cry and definitely keep them entertained! We also have some timeless heritage formats that are proven ratings winners and audience favourites that are perfectly suited to broadcaster?s schedules the world over."

Recipe to Riches is a new reality competition series that sees home cooks battle for a cash prize and the chance to have their original recipe chosen to be transformed into a new product to be sold in the nation?s supermarkets.

Created by Temple Street Productions, Recipe to Riches kicks off with a cross-country search for everyday cooks with extraordinary recipes in a new food category each week, from Sweet Puddings and Pies, to Cakes, Appetizers, Main Courses, or Sweet and Savoury Snacks. The top three finalists in each category fight for their recipes to be selected as category winner and to get their hands on a weekly cash prize. The winning recipes are transformed into products that are then immediately made available in grocery stores nationwide, allowing viewers to taste what they?ve seen being made on the show, before they cast their vote to decide the ultimate Recipe to Riches champion.

Family comes first with Little Goliaths, the big format which proves that size doesn?t matter. Little Goliaths sees adults test their skills against the lofty benchmarks set by talented youngsters in a range of challenges from arm wrestling to golf, spelling to speed-parking, and more. The kids think it?s a fun game, but for the adults it?s a little more serious as they challenge themselves to win a cash prize as they take on the towering targets set by their pint-sized adversaries. This entertaining new format from RTL Group and Next Big Thing is for the family with exceptional ratings already in Brazil, launching as the No.1 show in its timeslot with a 25 per cent share of all households.

The fun continues with 1001 Things You Should Know, the addictive new quiz game where contestants are quizzed by experts or celebrities on "common knowledge" questions that they really should already know the answer to ? but embarrassingly, often don?t! They aren?t rewarded for getting those right ? they really should know the answers anyway - but by answering them correctly our contestants can unlock trickier questions which can earn them lots of cash, and build up their pot against their opponents.

In 1001 Things You Should Know, it?s only by knowing what you should that will see you in with a chance to take home the winnings. This light hearted new game show is brimming with jeopardy and comes from FremantleMedia UK?s label, Thames.

When it comes to physical game shows, no one does it quite like the Japanese! The Boxing Glove is an original game show from Fuji TV in which every question is set by the ultimate Quiz Master, a giant boxing glove travelling towards the players at the speed of an express train. Only a correct answer can stop the glove, guaranteeing a funny and frantic game show that takes the Hole in the Wall concept to a whole new level. One wrong answer, one moment of hesitation, one slip of the tongue equals disaster ? a punch like Mike Tyson, and an icy bath.

Everyone Loves Animals sees one man and his ?dog? host a spoof news programme featuring amusing animal-based clips packaged and presented as news stories. The anchor and his ?newshound? (played by a comic actor) provide expert analysis and differing perspectives on hilarious news from the animal kingdom. Filled with humorous interactions and insight into the special and unique relationship that exists between one man and his dog, Everyone Loves Animals from Talkback is a fun show for the family. From criminal cats to piano playing pugs, this is the news as you?ve never seen it before, and it?s coming soon to BBC in the UK.

The comedy continues on tour with Magnum Media show Hit The Road Jack which sees a comedian travelling the country looking for local strangers to accommodate him. All the while, he is preparing for a live stand up gig about the area. Recently launched on Channel 4 in the UK, the show is a particular hit with young viewers.

Rounding off FremantleMedia?s packed slate of hit shows is a trio of heritage formats reimagined for modern audiences. Cult classic Blockbusters challenges contestants to answer a series of letter-based questions, guiding themselves to victory across the Blockbusters board, and is set to relaunch on Sky?s Challenge TV in the UK. Sassy dating show Man-O-Man puts ten men at the mercy of an audience full of women in a series of elimination challenges to demonstrate their dating credentials, while Play Your Cards Right is the international hit format that keeps generations of viewers glued to their screens with contestants answering questions as they try to take control the cards in a series of fun games.

MUMBAI: Discovery Enterprise International, the programme sales and licensing arm of US non fiction broadcaster Discovery, has announced the launch of ?D10?, a series of shorts that can be specially adapted for any client, on any platform.

The new package is being showcased at the on-going television trade event MipTV 2012.

D10 takes Discovery?s tremendous archive of over 10,000 hours of premium content to offer the entertainment package for mobile and online subscribers. With nearly unlimited content that can be personalised to match any client?s needs, these awe-inspiring, one to two minute clips are made of the best top 10 moments from the company?s portfolio of global brands, led by Discovery Channel and including TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel and Investigation Discovery.

Discovery Enterprises International senior VP Nicolas Bonard said, "As the industry?s leading producer of factual entertainment, Discovery distributes the world?s number one library of nonfiction programing that resonates with an eclectic, widespread, international audience. With enough content to develop any type of customizable short, it is only natural to further expand the company?s offering to clients with subscribers across multiple platforms."

D10 clients will obtain such clips as ?World?s Deadliest Sharks?, ?Top 10 Wild Survival Techniques? or ?Incredible Makeovers?. D10 can be tailored for any platform, including mobile, games, Terrestrial Television, DVD and Publishing. For mobile clients, D10 will be used for streaming video or screen savers. Discovery content will also be tied in to creative interactive games, or used as bonus footage for DVDs. D10, and its collection of the best of Discovery?s riveting content, is available immediately for all digital, mobile and online clients.

MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor Endemol has closed multiple deals with Viasat across Central and Eastern Europe, ahead of the television trade event MipTV 2012.

The broadcaster has signed a two season deal for Big Brother in Bulgaria to air on the Nova channel. Big Brother has proven to be ratings hit, with its 2010 kick-off show more than doubling Nova TV?s average share in the target demo; scoring a 38.4 per cent share and almost 500.000 viewers. This will be the sixth season to launch in Bulgaria.

The game show created by Endemol UK, ‘The Money Drop‘, has been picked up for 24 new episodes to run as two series in Bulgaria, also for the Nova channel. The format has been commissioned for a second series in Estonia with a 12 episode run to air on Viasat?s TV3.

Following ‘The Money Drop?s ongoing success across the CIS, Viasat has invested in a regional production hub located in Estonia. This will be the production home of local versions of the show to air in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and now Bulgaria.

‘The Money Drop‘ has now been sold to 15 CIS territories with 26 series airing in the region. In addition to the latest deals with Viasat, other recent commissions include returning series in Poland, Albania, Russia, Kazakstan.

Endemol has also closed a second series deal with Viasat for 16 new episodes of My Kitchen Rules in Lithuania on TV3. The show has been a success for the channel in 2011 with audience shares going up as high as 28.1 per cent in the key demo 15-49, which was 8 per cent higher than TV3?s
average.

Endemol CEO Central, Eastern European operations Marina Williams said, "These latest deals are further testament to the popularity of Endemol?s entertainment formats in the CIS. Furthermore, The Money Drop production hub will allow us to deliver the highest production value to Viasat?s viewers across the region. Closing these deals now is great timing as we prepare for MipTV 2012."

CANNES: Indian content - apart from Bollywood movies ? has not really travelled much overseas with total sales of TV shows globally not even crossing $20 million annually. The reason: broadcasters who own the content are loathe to sell it aggressively internationally, and prefer sitting on their hundreds of thousands of hours of TV shows.

But wait, here?s a player who‘s willing to challenge and change the status quo. Zee TV which has been quite aggressive in building its presence at TV content markets such as MipTV and Mipcom is about to take a major step by branding its syndicated content division as Zee Bollyworld. The company is making a soft launch of this intiaitive at MipTV in Cannes.

Says international business head Bharat Kumar Ranga: "No longer are we going to be in the commodity selling business, wherein we (Zee and other broadcasters which are selling content) cut each other‘s prices just to strike a deal with a potential buyer for our TV shows. Say we are quoting $200 an episode, another Indian broadcaster is more than open to discounting that price, and a third broadcaster is quite ok with dropping it even further."

Ranga says that Zee TV is quite kicked up about branding Indian TV content and building up the genre. "We chose the name Zee Bollyworld. We will be selling TV shows and movies as we wanted to own the Indian content message globally. Apart from selling our content in 18-19 languages, we will be aggregating it under the Zee Bollyworld from other sources too and syndicating it internationally," he says.

Ranga points out that the Zee group has a huge amount of business intelligence from 45 markets around the world, thanks to the number of years that it has been distributing its channels internationally and also attending international syndication markets like MipCom and MipTV. "Our syndication sales people are being re-nominclatured as syndication advisers ? they will no longer sell programming, they will advise buyers. We are looking at building strong relationships with our clients," he reveals.

MUMBAI: Heading into the television trade event MipTV, A+E Networks has bolstered its international sales staff with the appointment of Hana Zidek as director, content sales, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In addition, Joanne Lim has been promoted to Manager, Content Sales, Asia. The announcement was made by A+E Networks MD, international content distribution Marielle Zuccarelli, .

Zidek joins A+E Networks from Lionsgate Entertainment where she managed sales for the Nordics and other territories from the company?s London office. Previous to that, she oversaw program acquisitions for Viasat.

Based in A+E Networks? London office, Zidek will be responsible for managing content sales in the Nordic and Middle East regions, and will report to Jonathan South, Vice President, Content Sales, EMEA.

Based in A+E Networks? Singapore office, Lim will continue to oversee program sales throughout Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She reports to senior director, content sales, Asia Ling Sze Gan. Prior to joining A+E Networks in 2010, Ms. Lim held positions at BBC Worldwide and ITV.

Zuccarelli said, "I am happy to welcome Hana to A+E Networks. We have a seasoned content sales team in place and her background will further strengthen our efforts in the Nordic territories and the Middle East.

"Joanne has proven to be an integral player for us in Asia, and I?m very pleased to announce her promotion. Joanne has played an important role in expanding and strengthening our foothold in the region and will make a significant contribution as we ramp up our efforts to build our presence in Asia."

At MipTV, A+E Networks will offer a program catalogue spanning over 10,000 hours, including over 450 new titles to global broadcasters. Headlining the company?s slate are ?Mankind The Story of All of Us?, ?Seven Days of Sex?, ?Dance Moms?, ?Chris Bohjalian?s Secrets of Eden?, ?10 Things You Don?t Know About?, ?Shipping Wars? and ?Pawn Stars? - the format.