MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor FremantleMedia celebrates the entertainment format ?The X Factor?s success as the format reaches 40 territory sales. TV4 in Sweden and Rustavi 2 in Georgia have become the latest broadcasters to acquire the sensational Syco owned format created by Simon Cowell and produced or licensed by FremantleMedia around the world.

?The X Factor? has launched in nine new territories since the beginning of last year alone, including India, Chile, Kazakhstan, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and the USA, where it was Fox?s number one autumn new series launch for five years. This blockbuster ratings-winner has been the number one programme in Denmark for the past five years, with an incredible 40 per cent of the population tuning in. The X Factor is also the number one programme ever for Italy?s Sky Uno and has been the UK?s number one show for the past two years in a row.

FremantleMedia president, worldwide entertainment Trish Kinane said, "The latest sales of The X Factor cement the format?s position as one of the leading entertainment shows of this generation. This blockbuster format has enjoyed immense success all over the world and continues its remarkable track record of re-commissions, topping ratings lists and inspiring audiences in multiple territories worldwide. We?re extremely proud of the creative and commercial strengths across the FremantleMedia network that have seen formats like The X Factor thrive."

Syco Entertainment head of international George Levendis said, "The X Factor continues to build spectacularly season on season, launching in the US in 2011, being the most watched show in the UK and the breakthrough success in Australia and Italy last year. We are thrilled with the on-going progress of The X Factor as we work alongside FremantleMedia to produce and licence the format in many more markets in the future."

NEW DELHI: Jana Bennett, President Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer, today confirmed the network?s commitment to stage bold and ambitious global television events as she unveiled two new seasons for 2012 at MipTV.

London Calling and Planet Earth Live will run simultaneously across the BBC channels around the world, showcasing the very best of British programming and UK talent to the World.

As the eyes of the World turn to London this summer, the City of 2012 will be brought to life by the BBC through London Calling; a unique season of programmes that celebrate the music, fashion, art, culture and history of Britain?s capital city. The season will be led by live coverage from the spectacular Queen?s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Planet Earth Live is the biggest live wildlife broadcast ever undertaken by the BBC. It is an ambitious project which is the result of over ten years of innovation in techniques and formats at the BBC Natural History Unit. A unique and new project, it will bring real animals and their everyday dramas to a global audience in real time. Viewers will witness first-hand these incredible animals? struggle for survival in this animal soap opera, where nature writes the script.

Jana Bennett, said, ?By creating synchronised broadcasts, we unite our viewers around the world and give them a real appointment to view. Ours is the only network in the world which can deliver such massive global moments to an international audience and is what made our coverage of The Royal Wedding last year so successful. This year I want to go bigger and bolder.

?Planet Earth Live and London Calling will enable our audiences to feel part of a truly global viewing experience - whether it be witnessing the wonder of nature as it unfolds before them or revelling in the celebrations taking place across London without ever having to leave the comfort of their living room.?

The two new global events come hot on the heels of the first global viewing event of 2012 as BBC Worldwide gave an international stage to Sport Relief - one the UK?s biggest televised fundraising efforts. The special two week season culminated with Sport Relief Goes Global, a four-hour extravaganza featuring comedy highlights from the UK?s night of fundraising entertainment on BBC ONE.

London Calling will air between June and August on BBC Entertainment (India, Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Asia, Latin America and the channel?s pan-European service), BBC Knowledge (Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Italy, Asia and Australia), BBC HD (Latin America, Poland, The Nordic region and Turkey), UKTV (Australia and New Zealand) and BBC World News (global).

The season will also be available to users of BBC.com and to users of the global BBC iPlayer but will vary territory by territory.

Airing on BBC One in the UK, Planet Earth Live will air simultaneously4 to a global audience via BBC Knowledge (Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Poland, Italy, the Nordic Region) BBC Entertainment (India), BBC HD (Latin America) and in a selection of European countries on the global BBC iPlayer. The event excludes the US.

MUMBAI: Facing heat over alleged use of piracy to scuttle business of pay-TV rival ITV Digital, News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch vented his anger on social networking platform Twitter by terming the allegations as baseless.

"Seems every competitor and enemy piling on with lies and libels. So bad, easy to hit back hard, which preparing," Murdoch said on his Twitter handle @rupertmurdoch.

According to a BBC Panorama documentary, a company part-owned by News Corp carried out hacking by obtaining codes belonging to ITV Digital and posted them to allow viewers to watch for free which finally led to the demise of Sky?s main digital TV rival, ITV Digital.

NDS, which manufactured smartcards for all News Corp pay-TV companies across the world, said that Thoic was legitimately used to gather intelligence on hackers while Gibling worked as a consultant.

The publication of codes resulted in widespread piracy which finally resulted in the demise of ITV Digital, which had been set-up by Britain?s leading free-to-air commercial broadcaster, in 1998.

In a statement late on Wednesday, News Corp President Chase Carey said the BBC programme presented "manipulated and mischaracterised emails to produce unfair and baseless accusations", and he backed NDS?s call for the publicly owned British broadcaster to retract them.

The piracy scandal came as a second blow to the already beleagured News Corp as it had hardly recovered from the phone hacking scandal involving its UK publishing unit, News International.

The media conglomerate is under tremendous pressure as it is already under television regulator Ofcom?s scanner which is scrutinising whether James Murdoch and News Corporation are "fit and proper" persons to be in control of BSkyB, the company that runs Sky TV.

MUMBAI: BBC World News will kick off a new season of ?Horizons? on 7 April with an exploration of the future of transport, looking at breakthroughs in the US, China and the UK.

Presented by business journalist Adam Shaw and reporter Saima Mohsin, ?Horizons? continues its journey around the globe, visiting destinations including India, Brazil, China, and the US to discover the scientific and business ideas that could shape the future of the planet.

The first episode takes a look at the question of how we balance a burgeoning global population?s increasing demand for personal mobility with the environmental impact; exploring some of the novel approaches being taken around the world to keep us all on the move.

Shaw said, "We?ve been travelling the world looking for innovative and world-changing solutions to some of the biggest challenges the planet faces today and in our first show we look at some of the more unusual inventions being used globally to keep people moving in major urban areas."

Shaw visits the Fushida Electric Bicycle Company in Tianjin, China to explore how the phenomenon of the electric bicycle has swept the country. With an estimated 120 million electric bikes already in use domestically, Adam discovers how the latest incarnation of the humble bicycle could provide a solution to gridlocked roads in a country with a population already topping the 1 billion mark.

He also travels to the US to investigate a breakthrough in the use of hydrogen fuel and to meet one of the biggest names in the global automotive industry, William Clay Ford Junior. Ford reveals how his vision for a more environmental approach to the future of the car doesn?t necessarily mean giving up on the legacy of his great-grandfather.

MUMBAI: Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore has declared that starting 2013 the television rights deal for the popular football league could be pan-European rather than territory-to-territory basis.

The development is a result of an order by European Court of Justice last year which stated that homeowners could purchase decoders showing foreign broadcasts.

The move will have huge implications for News Corps owned British sports broadcaster BSkyB which has made a fortune out of its 20 year long partnership with the Premier League.

?We are still actually deliberating whether we should sell on a territory-by-territory basis, or whether with what?s happened [in the court ruling] with the freedom of movement it?s actually more applicable and you would actually get better protection or a better return if you sold on a pan-European basis," Scudamore told an audience of sports industry professionals.

?There?s not a decision been made yet as to whether we?re going to do a domestic deal or not,? Scudamore said. ?One of the implications of the ECJ decision is that we are still working on whether we now actually sell the rights on a pan European basis.?

The tender documents for the next round of rights bidding will be released between April and June and the league will keep its options open, Scudamore said.

According to a Bloomberg report, the English league?s current three-year U.K. contracts with Sky Sports and ESPN are valued at 1.78 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) and finish at the end of the 2012-13 season. It gets another 1.4 billion pounds from overseas sales, making it the highest grossing domestic soccer league in the world.

?We won?t set ourselves false deadlines,? Scudamore said, adding the league is talking to broadcasters across Europe to understand their ?attitudes and aptitudes for pan-European verses individual territory? sales.

Although Premier League?s financial success can be attributed to the broadcast support provided by Sky Sports, Scudamore said that relationship counts for little as the highest bidder will ultimately get the rights.

?Ultimately whatever umbilical cord there might be as an ongoing working commercial relationship gets severed as the invitation to tender gets issued. Once we?re in the process, there?s nothing they can do other than being the best bidder to win those rights," he averred.