MUMBAI: US infotainment and lifestyle media company Discovery has announced that TLC and Own: Oprah Winfrey Network have acquired the rights to ?Undercover Boss UK? and ?Undercover Boss Australia?, airing on the networks as Undercover Boss: Abroad.

The show kicks off on TLC in the US on 13 February. Own will add the series to its schedule beginning 13 March.

?Undercover Boss: Abroad?, distributed in the US by CBS Television Distribution, has the same format as the American version, following high-level corporate executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their own companies.

Each week, a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their corporation. While working alongside their employees, they will learn about themselves, the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organisation, the perception of their company, and discover the unsung heroes of their work force.

Many of the companies featured in Undercover Boss: Abroad are worldwide brands, including YMCA, Domino?s Pizza, Sodexo, Best Western Hotels and Isuzu Trucks. The series will also explore brands and businesses unique to their own countries.

CBS senior VP of corporate licensing and distribution Scott Koondel said, "The original American version of UNDERCOVER BOSS was an instant hit on CBS and has turned into a powerful franchise for the off-network marketplace with numerous international editions to extend the brand".

Additionally, ?Undercover Boss Canada? joins the networks? schedules later in the year.

MUMBAI: Asian pay-TV association Casbaa has congratulated Australian police for a dramatic raid on a pirate TV syndicate operating in Australia via high-capacity Internet servers based in China.

The raid on the B&L LED Sign company in Hurstville, in the suburbs of Sydney, signaled the latest stage in a long term campaign to track down the promoters and users of Internet-based networks distributing illegal TV signals in Australia. Based on the cash raked in by the Hurstville operation, police estimated that 150 million Australian Dollars could have been effectively stolen from the legitimate TV distribution industry by multinational criminal gangs.

Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, "This time the primary victim was TVB Australia, and the Hurstville police have done a great job to get this far. And so has TVB Australia, which brought the initial information to them."

TVB, based in Hong Kong, creates and sells Chinese-language TV programming, distributing its programming in Australia through a satellite-based pay-TV service, TVB Australia. The piracy network was stealing and reselling TV signals from TVB as well as a host of other international pay-TV channels, in English as well as Chinese.

Other channels distributed included high-value TV networks such as CNN, ESPN, MTV, Discovery, National Geographic, HBO, Fox and the BBC, alongside a library of Video on Demand shows and movies not yet released on legal DVDs -- all streamed from China directly to the user‘s TV set.

Police said they will file charges that carry heavy fines and potential maximum jail terms of five years. They will also interview homeowners who have received the stolen programming, some of whom may face charges themselves.

Increases in broadband penetration throughout Asia are making it easier for criminals to steal TV programming they do not own, and to re-sell to others. Too often, consumers sign up as accomplices in the theft. "Australia has strong laws to protect copyrighted broadcasts including holding end-users responsible for the consumption of stolen signals" said Davies

Casbaa held up the Hurstville raid as evidence that Australia is committed to enforcing its laws, and that policing there is effective. "We wish that other governments in this region would demonstrate the same commitment as Australia to preventing misuse of the Internet for TV piracy The problem is only going to grow, if other governments don‘t get serious" added Davies.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster 3net, the JV 3D network from Sony, Discovery and IMax has kicked off the show Fields of Valor: The Civil War. The broadcaster says that this is the world?s first native 3D war documentary.

The four-part 3net original miniseries will transport viewers back in time, retelling the war?s most pivotal moments both on and off the battlefields from the unique perspective of both sides of the historic conflict. The series utilises carefully selected stereoscopic stills from the period - recently released by the Library of Congress - and shown for the first time ever to television audiences in their native 3D format.

In addition the show features a cast of thousands for the penultimate battle scenes, unique "tableau form" style 3D recreations and 3D graphic effects to bring to vivid life the men of the 20th Massachusetts and the 1st Virginia as they leave their homes and loved ones, prepare for ensuing battle and plunge headlong into the history?s most brutal domestic conflict. Intimate accounts of the brave men on the front lines are told through paralleling stories from each side of the war, giving audiences a unique insight into the beliefs, struggles and passions of those involved from both the North and South.

3net president, CEO Tom Cosgrove said, "Recent advancements in 3D production have allowed us to get much ?closer? to this period in our history and offer a uniquely personal and immersive telling of the conflict that simply wasn?t possible before.

"By capturing the soldiers and battles of this historic war in native 3D, and showcasing perfectly preserved stereoscopic stills from the period, we?ve been able to bring a level of humanity and realism to the project unlike anything television audiences have experienced with previous Civil War documentaries. As well, we?re excited to broaden the audience for Fields Of Valor: The Civil War with the 2D premiere on our sister networks Velocity and Military Channel."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has announced the appointment of Martyn Freeman as its general counsel, a new role with responsibility across all legal and business affairs, policy and regulatory matters, including the negotiation of transactions and joint ventures, rights and deals management, crisis management, compliance, risk management and talent accounting.

Freeman will report to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith and will be a member of BBC Worldwide?s Executive Board. He will take up his position on 21 November.

He has been in charge of BBC Worldwide?s Legal and Business Affairs since 2002, as group head and then director. In these roles, he worked on the creation of partnerships such as BBC Books and 2 entertain, the divestments of BBC Magazines and BBC Audiobooks, the re-structuring of joint ventures with Discovery, and has had overall responsibility for rights acquisition and management.

More recently he has also led on raising financing and negotiating deals for BBC Worldwide?s slate of natural history feature films.

Previous to this position, he has worked in a variety of roles across the BBC, including as Head of Business Affairs, Radio and Music, Factual and Learning and News.

Freeman said, ?I am delighted to become the first general counsel for BBC Worldwide. It gives me the chance to build on nearly a decade?s work at BBC Worldwide as well as taking on some fascinating new challenges as BBC Worldwide continues to develop as a truly global media company.?