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."

MUMBAI: After launching its sports network beIN Sport in US, Al Jazeera Media Network is all geared up for its foray in the news domain with the acquisition of former Vice-President Al Gore?s news station Current TV.

While the financial details of the acquisition have not been revealed newswire Reuters has reported that the deal is worth $500 million.

Al Jazeera, which has more than 70 bureaus across the globe, also announced the launch of a new US-based news channel that will provide both domestic news and international news for American audiences.

The Qatar-based news network said the new US-based news channel will be available on Current?s distribution network when it is launched this year. There will be a transition from existing programming until the new Al Jazeera channel begins to air.

The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera?s expansion will double the network?s US-based staff to more than 300 employees.

As part of the Network?s expansion it is also planning to launch Al Jazeera Turk for the Turkish-speaking region in 2013.

Al Jazeera Director General Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said that the creation of the new U.S.-based news channel and the purchase of Current TV are historic developments in Al Jazeera?s 16-year history.

He said, "For many years, we understood that we could make a positive contribution to the news and information available in and about the United States and what we are announcing today will help us achieve that goal. By acquiring Current TV, Al Jazeera will significantly expand our existing distribution footprint in the US, as well as increase our newsgathering and reporting efforts in America. We look forward to working together with our new cable and satellite partners to serve our new audiences across the US."

Al Jazeera?s decision to create a US-based news channel was based in part on the fact that Americans have already shown a great demand for its news and programs: Almost 40 percent of all online viewing of Al Jazeera English comes from the United States.

The new U.S.-based news channel will be the latest addition to the Al Jazeera Media Network which consists of: Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Balkans, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr (Egypt Live), Al Jazeera Mobile, the English and Arabic Al Jazeera web sites Al Jazeera.net and Al Jazeera.com.