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: BBC Worldwide Channels has unveiled a new addition to the slate of original productions for its BBC-branded portfolio around the world, ?Best In Town?.

The new series is the business? first fully-funded production with an independent production company since the announcement in September to treble the number of original programme hours ordered for its international audience.

Commissioned from Richard Bacon?s production company Mox Productions, which operates within Sebastian Scott?s Predictable production hub, ?Best in Town? sets three local business owners from the same area against each other in a battle to see who is "the best" operator in town. Featuring a diverse range of characters running familiar businesses, this competitive new factual entertainment series will air on BBC Entertainment and BBC HD in key territories from 2013.

The title has been ordered by Tracy Forsyth, VP, Commissioning, as part of her plan to treble the number of original hours ordered for BBC Knowledge, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and UKTV (BBC Worldwide?s general entertainment channel in Australia and New Zealand) in 2012, with the aim of increasing the number of original hours on the channels to 100 by 2014. More major productions will be unveiled later this year.

Created with global audiences in mind, ?Best in Town? builds on one part of Forsyth?s twin track commissioning strategy; to order both international formats which will air in all markets, alongside local productions targeting individual markets.

Forsyth said, "We believe that the competition between passionate business owners in Best in Town will provide fertile territory for creating some truly entertaining moments in this returnable factual entertainment format. We think this desire to be the best is universal and will be of great appeal to our global audience."

BBC Worldwide Channels acting MD David Weiland said, "BBC Worldwide is committed to sourcing the best content from the UK production community and reflecting the most recent global trends. This new series is the sort of high-quality, innovative programming our global audience has come to expect from the BBC."

?Best in Town? sees three real life competitors from the same type of business battle it out for honours in the same area. The series challenges the entrepreneurs to use all their knowledge and business sense when they come face to face with their fellow traders for the first time. After the competitors have visited and assessed each other?s businesses and faced their ultimate challenge, a mystery shopper will put their customer service skills to the test. With the winner revealed, the business owners must meet again, shake the winner by the hand and admit that they are the "best in town".

Best in Town will air from next year on BBC Entertainment in Asia, Africa Latin America, Poland and the Nordic region and BBC HD in EMEA and Latin America.
In September, BBC Worldwide Channels had outlined plans to bolster its original programming slate, through a combination of fully funded series and co-productions from the BBC?s in-house productions teams, as well as the independent production community.