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: BBC Worldwide Channels has unveiled Numtums Adventures as the latest new title in production for the international CBeebies network.

Created as a result of BBC Worldwide Channels? ongoing deal with CBeebies in-house productions in the UK, Numtums Adventures continues BBC Worldwide?s commitment to invest in programmes that will encourage children around the world to learn through play.

BBC Worldwide will hold the commercial rights for the series, including global channel broadcast, distribution and merchandising.

Aimed at four to six year olds, the adventure comedy evolved from a series of five-minute learning shorts that currently air on the preschool channel in the UK and around the world to help children with their numbers.

The new series targets upper pre-schoolers by introducing story driven episodes, fast paced comedy and visual humour, and distinct voices and personalities for the Numtum characters. Using CGI, each episode sees the number-obsessed heroes use their maths and number skills to resolve problems in their quirky hometown of Gumnut Gorge.

Numtums Adventures is produced by the CBeebies in-house team and animated by A Productions in Bristol. The series will debut on CBeebies in the UK and around the world in 2013/14.

Numtums Adventures is the latest in a slate of new investments for BBC Worldwide?s international CBeebies network.

CBeebies is a multi-platform brand for preschoolers aged six years and under, which encourages children to learn through play. In the UK, CBeebies offers a mix of new and landmark, high-quality, UK-produced content to educate and entertain the BBC?s youngest audiences in a consistently safe environment.

The international CBeebies channel is wholly-owned by BBC Worldwide and is available in the following territories: Pan Asia, Australia, Pan Latin America & the US Hispanic market, Poland, South Africa and the Nordic region.

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC?s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has announced that Jon Penn, currently FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO Asia Pacific, is to take up the new role of BBC Worldwide Australasia MD in April.

Penn succeeds former GM Tony Iffland and interim leader Blair McQuade, but will see his responsibilities broadened to include ownership of the region?s P&L under BBC Worldwide?s new Balanced Regionalisation plans, which aims to significantly increase revenue in the territory within the next five years. He will report directly to BBC Worldwide?s President of the UK, Australasia Marcus Arthur, who is based in London.

Also being announced today is BBC Worldwide Australasia?s interim GM Blair McQuade?s appointment as chief commercial officer for Australasia, a new role supporting Jon, which will see him take responsibility for the commercial activities across the business.

BBC Worldwide adds that Australia and New Zealand are hugely important markets for it and both have seen growth over the last five years, across all five areas of business: channels; sales and distribution; content and production; consumer products; and global brands. BBC Worldwide?s strategic aim to increase its regional focus, which will begin on 2 April next, will enable the company to maximise growth across all platforms in the local market.

In 2011/12, BBC Worldwide Australasia increased revenue by nine per cent on the previous year, generating $140 million. Recent new business success stories include the launch of the global BBC iPlayer pilot in Australia, where it is the most successful territory, and the growth of live events, with 100,000 people expected to attend one of five live events in the year.

Penn founded FremantleMedia Enterprises? brand licensing and interactive media division in Australia in 2001 and his responsibilities later expanded to include the rest of Asia Pacific. He was particularly instrumental in turning MasterChef Australia into a multi-million dollar, multi-platform brand over three years and his career has seen him launch new business enterprises across both traditional and digital media platforms, delivering overall revenue growth for FremantleMedia Enterprises in the Asia Pacific region.

Promoted to CEO FremantleMedia Enterprises Asia Pacific in 2009, he added TV distribution, home entertainment and live events to his responsibilities and led the team who has built multi-platform brand franchises out of The X Factor, QI, Grand Designs and Merlin, amongst many marquee TV properties.

Prior to FremantleMedia Enterprises, Penn worked for Fairfax Media?s digital division - Fairfax Digital - and has held a variety of sales, marketing and business development roles over his 22 year career.

Arthur said, "I?m really pleased that Jon has decided to take up our challenge as MD of Australasia, a role that will have increased responsibility in BBC Worldwide?s new organisational structure. His strategic influence across so many platforms, properties and brands at FremantleMedia is impressive, not least because of the outstanding commercial growth he?s drawn from them. I know he?s the right person to lead BBC Worldwide Australasia on to bigger and even better things as the region takes charge of its own P&L for the first time."

Penn said, "I?m thrilled to be given the opportunity to guide BBC Worldwide Australasia through such a pivotal point in its history. I have nothing but admiration for the business and I look forward to building upon the huge success already achieved by its talented workforce and building upon Blair?s brilliant leadership since Tony Iffland departed."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide America, Sales & Distribution, has announced a syndication deal with US public television stations for the British crime drama series, ?DCI Banks?.

The show will be available on 166 stations, reaching an estimated 77 per cent of US TV households.

The syndication deal includes the show?s pilot and seasons 1 and 2. DCI Banks will premiere on public television stations across the US, including WUSF Tampa, Kera Dallas and KCET Los Angeles, starting this month.

?DCI Banks? is a crime drama series. It follows lead character, veteran Detective Chief Inspector, Alan Banks, on his passionate and relentless journey in pursuit of criminals and justice, which inevitably leads him to take dark and treacherous paths to solve crimes. DCI Banks stars Stephen Tompkinson as Alan Banks, Andrea Lowe and Caroline Catz.

BBC Worldwide America VP PBS Sales Julius Cain said, "DCI Banks is a terrific and suspenseful show which we believe will attract a wide range of viewers in the U.S. This syndication deal marks the largest we have inked to date between BBC Worldwide America and public television stations and is evidence of the great interest in the top-notch and skillfully produced programs we offer our clients."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has appointed Amanda Hill as chief brands officer to develop global business.

The appointment is a part of a restructuring from divisional to geographic lines of management, and also BBC?s ongoing strategy to maximise the value of its assets outside the UK.

The new position, still reeling from the management blunders that led to the resignation of Director General George Entwistle, is designed to play a key role in enabling BBC Worldwide to build and develop global brands such as Top Gear, BBC Earth, Doctor Who, Dancing with the Stars, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and the Global iPlayer.

Hill is currently managing director of BBC Earth.

As part of the BBC?s senior executive team, Hill will be tasked with developing, segmenting and managing the current brand portfolio of 14 BBC Global brands while also developing and building new BBC brands to protect and develop future brand revenue growth.

Hill said, "I?m absolutely thrilled to be taking up the role of chief brands officer. The BBC is one of the greatest broadcasters and the most trusted brands in the world and I passionately about the role it plays internationally and here in the UK. With the rise of truly global digital channels, now is an incredible time to bring the BBC to the world and the world to the BBC."

BBC Worldwide interim CEO Paul Dempsey said, "I?m delighted to announce Amanda?s appointment as chief brands officer for BBC Worldwide. She has an outstanding record in growing brands such as Walking with Dinosaurs and BBC Earth, and I have no doubt that she is the right person to build and develop our core brands around the world. She will take up the post early in the New Year and will play a key role in bringing us closer to our global audiences as we drive forward our restructuring plans."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Channels has launched three of its channels, BBC Entertainment, BBC World News and BBC Lifestyle, on newly launched Indonesian pay TV platform, max3.

max3 is the retail brand of Biznet Networks, a leading telecommunication and multimedia operator in Indonesia whose services currently include unlimited broadband internet service and pay TV services.

With the debut of BBC Entertainment in Indonesia, the full suite of BBC?s channels will now be available in the country.

?Indonesia is a very important part of BBC Worldwide?s growth strategy in Asia, and we are very pleased to be working with Biznet to launch our channels on their new platform,? commented BBC Worldwide Channels Asia SVP and GM Mark Whitehead. ?We are confident that the high quality and award winning programmes on BBC Entertainment, together with BBC World News and BBC Lifestyle will be popular with max3?s viewers.?

2012 has been a year of tremendous growth for BBC World News. "The channel surpassed the 300 million household figure in May, and several international news events of the year allowed BBC World News to do what it does best. That Biznet sees the value in carrying us in what is a strategic Asian market does not come as a surprise. We look forward to working with them to build the BBC World News brand in Indonesia, especially as we are about to move into new state-of-the art studios in London,? said BBC Global New Director Distribution Colin Lawrence.

?We are very happy that three of the BBC channels will join us when we launch our platform. We are confident that high quality content is a key factor in driving our subscription growth. We are confident that BBC World News, BBC Lifestyle and BBC Entertainment will make max3?s offerings even stronger and more sought after by our subscribers," said Biznet Networks President Director Adi Kusma.