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Indiantelevision.com
MUMBAI: Broadcasters from across Middle East and Africa have snapped up a number of the latest top dramas at BBC Worldwide Showcase 2013.
The four-day event plays host to over 700 TV buyers including IBA, Yes and Al Jazeera from the Middle East and Africa?s MNet. Between them the networks have licensed ?The Paradise?, ?Call the Midwife?, ?Da Vinci?s Demons?, ?Top of the Lake? and ?Ripper Street? amongt others.
Israel broadcaster IBA has picked up two key Showcase titles, ?The Paradise?, starring Elaine Cassidy and Emun Elliott and ?Call the Midwife? (series one). IBA has also licensed a number of David Attenborough natural history titles including ?Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild? and ?Attenborough?s Giant Egg?.
Also in Israel, Yes DBS has concluded a drama package that leads with the eagerly awaited ?Da Vinci?s Demons?, written by David S. Goyer and starring Tom Riley and Laura Haddock, based on the genius? early years in Renaissance Italy. This follows BBC Worldwide?s sale of the eight-part series to Fox International Channels announced in August last year. Other series in the deal include ?The Fear? and ?The Secret of Crickley Hall? as well as a documentary package for titles such as ?Addicted to Tattoos?, ?Eat, Fast and Live Longer? and ?Junior Doctors? (series two).
In a drama double, BBC Worldwide has licensed both ?Ripper Street? and ?Top of the Lake?, to MNet for South African territory premieres.
?Doctor Who? (Series 5, 6, 7) will premiere on Al Jazeera?s children?s channel. Meanwhile Al Jazeera Documentary Channel has bought 200 hours of documentary, current affairs, science and natural history programming including ?Attenborough?s Giant Egg?, ?India on Four Wheels?, ?Panorama: Poor America?, ?Panorama: Price Tag Wars?, ?Transit of Venus? and ?True Stories? (series 2-4).
Elsewhere, OSN Dubai has acquired the latest series of ?Top Gear? (S19) and ?Top Gear USA? (S3), securing the exclusive first window in the Middle East territories.
BBC Worldwide territory manager Middle East and Africa, sales and distribution Paola Tonella said, "Drama is topping the bill at this year?s Showcase and it?s clear that BBC Worldwide?s programming with its quality scripts and first class production values are extremely attractive to global buyers. We are very proud of the Showcase slate, and I?m delighted we have completed important deals for these series, as well as our premium blue-chip documentaries, to key broadcasters in this region."
