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.?

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: After trying to get its channels off the ground for the past five years, BBC Worldwide Channels has decided to stop airing its two entertainment channels in the country - BBC Entertainment India and CBeebies.

The channels will stop airing by the end of the month. BBC World News will, however, continue to air.

The news has come as a surprise to some given that in 2010 the channel had appointed Deepak Shourie as its director for South Asia and refreshed BBC Entertainment in 2011 with a focus on entertainment, infotainment and factual content. BBC Worldwide Channels was trying to make a serious push on the distribution front.

BBC Worldwide Channels Asia senior VP, GM Mark Whitehead said, "The decision to withdraw BBC Entertainment and CBeebies has not been an easy one; India is a dynamic and fast growing media market but remains uniquely challenging for pay TV channels. Specifically, delays in digitisation and the need for channel operators to pay cable platforms for carriage makes the economics of running channels very challenging at this time."

A rival broadcaster on condition of anonymity says that the numbers must not have added up. "It might make sense for them to return in 2015 if the digitisation process is complete. Right now placement costs are not going down. These costs will go down only by the end of next year when the second phase of digitisation is over. Also remember that Cbeebies does not carry ads. So to pay carriage fees on that is a losing proposition."

He adds that British content is more niche than American content. "A few shows had gotten traction like ?Sherlock?, ?Top Gear?. But when they did their annual review and looked at the markets that they operate in, the decision must have been that India for now does not make sense."

Whitehead adds that despite this, BBC Worldwide remains committed to India. "BBC World News ? the BBC?s international news and current affairs television channel ? continues to be available across the market, along with the bbc.com and bbchindi.com websites, BBC Hindi radio and Global India, a new primetime programme produced by BBC Hindi TV which will launch on five ETV channels later this week.

"In addition, BBC Worldwide operates a TV production business, a content syndication business and Lonely Planet in India. The company is also evaluating the potential for a number of digital initiatives which have been successfully developed in other markets. BBC programmes will also continue to be available on other channels in India, both terrestrial and cable, as well as digitally on our YouTube channel."

In the coming weeks, BBC Worldwide will be ensuring a smooth transition for its staff affected by this decision.

MUMBAI: Twins Topsy and Tim are coming to CBeebies in a new preschool drama series made by Darrall Macqueen.

Other new shows returning to the channel will include ?Grandpa In My Pocket? and ?Show Me Show Me?, and the festive show ?CBeebies Panto? which, this year, will be ?Jack And The Beanstalk?.

?Topsy and Tim? offers a snapshot of contemporary family life. The series is based on the books by Jean and Gareth Adamson which were popular in the 1960s and now, for the first time, are being brought up to date for the current CBeebies audience.

Each episode explores the fun of family life from the perspective of five-year-old twins ? from washing the car with Dad to finding a lost rabbit. There are also two key life experiences which underpin this series ? moving house and getting ready to start school ? which bring change and new challenges for Topsy and Tim.

The series aims to encourage children?s personal, social and emotional development as they identify with and learn from the twins? experiences.

The fourth series of ?Grandpa In My Pocket? will see James Bolam, return as Grandpa for more adventures in Sunnysands. This series brings some changes for the Mason Family. They are now living in The Mill-on-the-Marsh, a gorgeous windmill which mum is running as a B&B, while children Jason and Jemima have grown up. But when two of Jason?s young cousins come to stay at The Mill for the summer, they are amazed and excited to be let into the secret of Grandpa?s magic shrinking cap.

Bolam said, ?Grandpa In My Pocket is such a great idea ? first class scripts, original and funny, and the kids love it. I?m really looking forward to another series. In a word ? magic!?

Chris Jarvis and Pui Fan Lee return for a fourth series of ?Show Me Show Me?. At the very top of a ten-storey tower block, Chris and Pui await in a beautiful and bright playroom with all their toy friends - Tom, Miss Mouse, Teddington, Momo and Stuffy. This series will explore a number of new themes alongside the usual fun mix of imaginary play, song, rhyme and movement. There will also be some new nursery rhyme guests who travel up in the lift to visit Chris and Pui on the 10th floor.

Bringing a sprinkling of magic beans and cries of ?Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum? to the channel this Christmas is the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. Join all of the CBeebies presenters as they visit an enchanted land for some festive fun and plenty of pantomime frolics. Jack and the Beanstalk will be narrated by Bernard Cribbins and performed in front of a live audience at The Palace Theatre in Manchester for broadcast this Christmas on the CBeebies channel.

Benbow said, ?I am thrilled to be announcing a mix of new and returning programming to the channel. We have been searching for our first-ever live action drama for CBeebies for some time and we are delighted to be working with Darrall Macqueen to bring the wonderful stories of Topsy and Tim to a brand new audience. Viewers will be excited, I?m sure, to see brand new episodes of ?Show Me Show Me? and ?Grandpa In My Pocket? back on the channel. I?m particularly delighted that James Bolam has chosen to return to one of our most popular series as a character loved by our younger viewers and their families, while ?Jack and the Beanstalk? will bring some fairytale fun to the channel at Christmas.?

MUMBAI: The UK pubcaster the BBC‘s children‘s channel CBeebies is bringing old friends and a new feel to its early evening schedule for the Autumn, with the return of ‘The Adventures Of Abney & Teal‘, ‘64 Zoo Lane‘ and ‘Waybuloo‘. And for the first time, the new-look Bedtime Hour will see different schedules on weekday evenings (Sunday-Thursday) and weekend evenings (Fridays and Saturdays).

From 28 October, new episodes of ‘The Adventures of Abney and Teal‘ will be seen at 6 pm, taking young viewers off to the island in the middle of the lake where Abney & Teal live, for some animated adventures with their friends. Then at 6.10pm, it‘s time to join Lucy in ‘64 Zoo Lane‘ as she goes on some magical night-time exploits with the animals living at the zoo near her house. The regular bedtime programming of ‘In The Night Garden‘ and ‘The Bedtime Story‘ will remain in their slots to draw the early evening schedule to a close.

Then, as the weekend approaches, the popular Piplings return to the Bedtime Hour on 2 November. This series of shorter episodes of ‘Waybuloo‘ will be seen every Friday and Saturday after ‘The Adventures of Abney and Teal‘ at 6.10 pm, taking children on a journey into the world of Nara where the Piplings practice their unique Yogo moves, helping little ones wind down.

CBeebies controller Kay Benbow said, "The Bedtime Hour is a particularly important part of CBeebies programming and we are always looking at ways to refresh the schedule and keep it interesting and engaging.

"We recognise that families‘ routines often vary on weekdays and weekends so we wanted to try something a little different with our schedules to reflect this. It also allows us to include more programmes in The Bedtime Hour so that all of our young viewers have the chance to watch their favourite shows as they settle down for bedtime."

Fans of current bedtime shows ‘Charlie and Lola‘ will still be able to catch up with the popular show every day from 29 October.

And, as ever, parents and children can catch up with their favourite programmes at any time through the CBeebies iPlayer at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbeebies

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has secured a deal with Emirates to launch CBeebies as the airline?s first-ever branded channel targeting children aged six and under. Loved by children and their carers the world over, CBeebies offers programmes which encourage the BBC?s youngest audiences to learn through play in a consistently safe environment.

From 1 November 2012, Emirates will feature CBeebies showing a selection of shows like ?Charlie and Lola? and ?Nina and the Neurons?. The CBeebies channel on Emirates will also be home to several titles developed by the BBC and BBC Worldwide for the international CBeebies television network, including ?Andy?s Wild Adventures?, ?Baby Jake? and ?Mr Bloom?s Nursery?.

The dedicated CBeebies branded channel on Emirates compliments additional programming from the BBC, such as ?Sherlock? starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the documentary series ?Frozen Planet?, narrated by naturalist Sir David Attenborough, and classic comedy series ?Absolutely Fabulous? and ?Fawlty Towers?. Also available on Emirates is the BBC?s Live Text News and Sport service, which has kept passengers up to date for almost a decade.

BBC Worldwide Channels senior VP, GM Europe, Midddle East and Africa Ian McDonough said, "As a company, we are committed to serving our international audiences - both young and old - with the best British content across a range of media platforms. This CBeebies branded channel on Emirates will keep young fans entertained and bring yet more children on a journey of learning and discovery."

The deal was brokered by BBC Worldwide Channels Travel Distribution Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa Zina Neophytou,.

She said, "We?re delighted to partner with Emirates Airline to bring the BBC?s flagship preschool brand CBeebies to its in-flight entertainment system, ice. We have worked closely with Emirates to tailor the new channel to complement their existing entertainment offering. With such a vast range of quality content available from BBC Worldwide, we welcome opportunities to forge partnerships in the travel space to create bespoke channel environments which reflect our international portfolio - CBeebies, as well as BBC Knowledge, BBC HD, BBC Entertainment and BBC Lifestyle."

Emirates VP corporate communications product, publishing, digital and events Patrick Brannelly said, "Emirates believes that providing the best in in-flight entertainment is one of the key factors in a successful flight and we continuously invest in expanding our offering to our passengers.

"Building upon the large selection of children?s TV channels already onboard, adding the dedicated CBeebies channel is just another example of how Emirates meets the needs of our passengers - be they young in age or young at heart."