MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has commissioned a bespoke Glastonbury programme that will stream directly from the festival to air live on its international channel portfolio.

Glastonbury 2013 will be a six-hour television event taking global audiences to the heart of the action of this iconic open air British music and performing arts festival.

On 30 June - the final day of the festival - the six-hour broadcast will run without break and feature highlights from Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances.

The highlights and live coverage will be linked by BBC presenters on site and a 90s? highlights package will also be made available for the channels following the festival as part of the deal brokered by acquisitions and content manager, content Richard Acton and director music content Salim Mukaddam.

Commissioned specifically for the international channels audience by BBC Worldwide VP commissioning, content Tracy Forsyth the bespoke programme Glastonbury 2013 is the ninth original production to be announced within the global commissioning strategy for BBC branded channels.

Forsyth said, "We are delighted to be bringing yet another world-class British event to our audiences across the globe. The scale and quality of Glastonbury and its consistently stellar line-up of music acts have given it a well-earned reputation as one of the world?s not-to-be-missed events, so we are excited to be bringing our viewers closer than ever before."

Glastonbury 2013 will be available on BBC Entertainment (Asia, Latin America, Poland, Nordics and South Africa), BBC Knowledge (Asia), BBC HD (EMEA and Latin America) and UKTV (Australia and New Zealand). The line-up for the six-hour broadcast is yet to be announced.

Glastonbury regularly sees over 150,000 festival goers coming together in a huge tented city. The festival has played host to some of the biggest names in music including Beyonce, Coldplay and U2 and musical greats Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and David Bowie.

MUMBAI: ?Really Cool Stuff? (working title) is the eighth original production to be announced by BBC Worldwide as part of the new commissioning strategy for its global branded channels, unveiled last September.

Blending science and factual entertainment, the fully funded format will premiere on BBC Knowledge (Asia, Africa, CEE, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Poland and the Nordics) and BBC HD (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America) next year. Dissecting the coolest things in the universe, the general knowledge show will be led by three British presenters alongside studio experiments and CGI and animations.
 
The 10 episode factual entertainment series from 360Production will tackle some of the world?s greatest mysteries from why cats have nine lives, to why we experience D?j? Vu and whether anyone could move fast enough to dodge a speeding bullet.

BBC Worldwide?s aim is to deliver 100 hours of original programming to its BBC branded channels by next year.

The company adds that this latest original production which blends science with factual entertainment, demonstrates VP of commissioning Tracy Forsyth?s commitment to work with independent producers and the BBC?s in-house production teams to create original and high quality television formats for the BBC?s international channel portfolio. Lucy Pilkington will act as BBC Knowledge executive producer, while BBC Worldwide will hold all commercial rights to the new series of ?Really Cool Stuff?, including global broadcast and distribution.

Created with an international BBC audience in mind, ?Really Cool Stuff? will take a magnifying glass to the world?s greatest and most intriguing natural wonders and examine quirky topics in bite size chunks. There will be a mix of presenter interaction, CGI, studio-based scientific experiments, demonstrations and expert input. Hosts Greg Foot (Physicist and adrenalin junkie), Fran Scott (biologist and practical experimenter) and Dominic Byrne (radio and TV broadcaster) will together debate, investigate and dissect a wide spectrum of topics including: "What is more deadly, a tornado or a hurricane?", "where do accents come from?" and "what is the loudest living thing in the ocean?"
 
Forsyth commented, "This high-energy, visually stimulating and incredibly informative series by 360Production, truly delivers a great mix of science and factual entertainment content in a fresh, digestible and returnable format. ?Really Cool Stuff? will answer some of those bizarre common-place questions you have always wondered about, no matter where you live in the world ? and this is one of the many reasons I believe the show will have wide-appeal with our international BBC audiences".

360Production creative director John Farren said, "Everyone at 360Production loves perplexing questions, funny answers, brilliant design and making things go bang. In this show, we get to do them all and can?t wait to share the results with audiences around the world."

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC?s commercial arm BBC Worldwide MD Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Jon Penn has made some strategic changes to key roles in his senior team, to prepare the company for growth in the territory.

Deirdre Brennan is to become the director of content, taking responsibility for content management and development in the region. In this new role, she will oversee format production, drama investment and the editorial delivery of the ANZ channels.

Blair McQuade, who until recently was BBC Worldwide ANZ acting GM, has taken on the new role of chief commercial officer (CCO). As CCO, McQuade will oversee strategy and corporate development, finance and operations. McQuade?s role will also manage the TV Sales business distributing programming to FTA, STV and digital platforms.

Irene Read has been promoted to head of sales, leading the team that licenses all TV programming and news in Australia and New Zealand on a daily basis, reporting to McQuade in this role. Read joined BBC Worldwide in 2011 and has successfully overseen sales in the Australian region to date.

Rob Leach will become digital and business development director with an expanded remit overseeing commercial digital, brand licensing and new business lines. He has recently taken on responsibility for the licensing of BBC Worldwide?s brands in Australia and New Zealand, notably live events, consumer products and DVDs. He is also responsible for BBC World News and the relationship with MCN.

Completing the executive leadership team for BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand are: Melissa Madden, director of brands and marketing, leading the company?s marketing department and creative services team. Fiona Lang, head of business and legal affairs, overseeing all legal, contractual, regulatory and compliance activity.

Penn said, "As BBC Worldwide looks to grow its business outside the UK, placing more autonomy in this territory?s hands, there is a fantastic opportunity for growth. I am confident that I have put the best team and structure in place to deliver this growth in the areas that have the most potential - content, brands and digital - with a strong strategic and visionary team behind it."

MUMBAI: British public broadcaster BBC?s commercial arm BBC Worldwide is to launch a premium BBC channel on Foxtel in Australia as an ad free medium to focus on British drama and comedy.

This new multi-platform deal will attempt to be as close to the transmission in United Kingdom as possible.

This is a key move in the BBC?s global strategy to build its brand in markets outside the UK. The Foxtel platform offers an opportunity for the BBC to create a direct relationship with Australian audiences.

Launching as part of the Foxtel Drama and Lifestyle package in mid 2014, the channel will feature quality first-run programming from the BBC and other great British producers, which will not be available on terrestrial television for at least 12 months.

One title already confirmed for the launch is the spectacular 10-part drama series ?The Musketeers?, which is Adrian Hodges? fresh and contemporary take on Alexandre Dumas? characters from the novel ?The Three Musketeers?.

The deal will also see the four existing BBC channels ? UKTV, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and BBC World News ? continuing on the Foxtel platform.

All five channels will be available on Foxtel GO and the premiere channel will be available in high definition, alongside UKTV and BBC Knowledge. Extensive BBC content will be available on demand at no extra charge and subscribers to the channels will be able to go back in time using the Foxtel EPG to watch or record programmes they have missed.

In addition, the deal offers Foxtel a first-look at all BBC Worldwide Lifestyle programming. This content will also be available on Foxtel Go and on demand and using the EPG catch up functionality.

BBC Worldwide Australasia MD Jon Penn said, ?This deal represents a strategic opportunity for BBC Worldwide to further expand our opportunities to showcase outstanding British creativity in Australia. We have a strong relationship with Foxtel and their viewers through our existing four channels, and were delighted to be given the chance to launch a premium channel that could offer the best BBC and British premiere television shortly after UK transmission. We are confident that we will also continue to have productive relationships with our other valued partners in the FTA, STV and digital markets.?

Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein said, ?The BBC is one of the great television brands: its content across so many genres is loved and admired by millions of viewers all over the world. By strengthening our relationship with the BBC we will greatly enhance the viewing experience we offer our subscribers, with even more high quality content that can only be seen on the Foxtel platform and which we show as soon as possible after its original broadcast. Plus we offer the superior quality of high definition and the fantastic convenience of Foxtel Go.?