ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • BBC Films announces new structure

    MUMBAI: BBC Fiction controller Jane Tranter has announced the new structure for BBC Films. The day-to-day management of BBC Films and decision-making will now be the responsibility of a newly-established BBC Films Board, comprising BBC Films commissioning editor Christine Langan, executive producer Jamie Laurenson; executive producer Joe Oppenheimer, commercial affairs and GM.Jane Wright.

    Tranter is already responsible for BBC Films. While the day-to-day management of BBC Films will be handled collectively by the board, the board members will have specific areas of responsibility.

    Jane Wright will chair the board and be responsible for day-to-day operations, raising finance, distribution and executive producing feature films. Langan will executive produce feature films as well as taking on the responsibility for management of the development slate and the development team at BBC Films.

    Laurenson will executive produce feature films, as well as working with BBC Four and Ben Stephenson, Head of Drama Commissioning, on the channel’s slate of single films.

    Oppenheimer will also executive produce feature films, in addition to managing the close creative relationship with HBO Films. The philosophy behind the creation of the board is to allow for a plurality of voice and vision and a collaborative approach to decision-making, while giving the individuals on the board real independence in their executive producer roles.

    Jane Tranter and Claire Evans will work closely with the board on editorial and business affairs matters, offering their support and advice when necessary.

    The new BBC Films Board, with Jane Tranter and Claire Evans, will now put together a detailed editorial and business strategy for the BBC’s feature film output, which will be announced in due course. Physically, BBC Films will move from its existing offices to BBC Television Centre next year.

    Tranter says, “The talent, energy and ambition within the BBC Films Board is very impressive. This move will bring BBC Films back into the heart of the BBC, and in particular BBC Fiction, enabling much greater creative collaboration across BBC Fiction – Drama, Comedy and Acquisition – with films very much at the centre of the department.

    “BBC Films will also benefit from closer access to other key genres at the BBC, allowing for a more fluid traffic of talent and a more effective cross-fertilisation of ideas. We aim to build on the fantastic success BBC Films has had under David Thompson, and build on the enviable reputation it has both here and internationally.”

    Claire Evans said, “The firm intention is that ideas and projects can now flow between the departments much more easily. We aim to encourage the work of many more unique and original voices to work on an ambitious range of projects on a variety of platforms from the big screen to the laptop.

    “We also want to be even more ambitious with our external partnerships across fiction, and become better partners ourselves. We are open for business across the board.”

    BBC Vision director Jana Bennett said, “With these plans, the BBC is set to back an even stronger set of projects from BBC Films. Nowhere in the world can such a diverse range of talent be found working together under one roof, and I am confident that, by bringing the fiction team under Jane Tranter’s leadership, we will be able to better serve the creative and production communities and offer our audiences even more outstanding storytelling.”

    One of BBC Films’ recent releases is the critically acclaimed Eastern Promises from director David Cronenberg. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel – will open the Times BFI London Film Festival, and will open in the UK through Pathe on 26 October 2007. In post production are John Maybury’s The Edge Of Love, starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys; Justin Chadwick’s The Other Boleyn Girl starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana and David Morrissey; Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road starring Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet.

    Shooting currently is Saul Dibbs’ The Duchess starring Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightley.

  • CNN-IBN and IBN 7 forays into reality show format with ‘Dard-e-Disco’

    MUMBAI: CNN-IBN and IBN 7 has launched a reality talent hunt show Dard-e-Disco dance challenge. The challenge is an attempt to find the best dancer to dance in Farah Khan directed Om Shanti Om’s item number Dard-e-Disco.

    After the audition rounds in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, the five most talented finalists, chosen over the weeks, will receive personalised choreography lessons from Farah.

    The finalists will feature in a special one-hour dance show wherein Shahrukh Khan, Farah Khan and Deepika Padukone will be the judges. The winner will get an opportunity to dance with Shahrukh Khan.The video play outs including the grand finale will be aired on the entertainment section of CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and ibnlive.com.

    CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “With our interest in exploring interactive reality programming, coupled with Om Shanti Om being one of the most awaited releases of the year, ‘Dard-e-Disco dance Challenge’ is a first-of-its-kind venture attempted by us.”

    IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh said, “Reality talent hunts are a rage these days. However, this dance contest stands apart in that it is directly based on a widely anticipated film whose music is already creating waves around the nation. Active involvement by Farah Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone and wide-spread participation by the public is bound to make this initiative an all-out success.”

  • BBC Learning English launches on Nokia’s Mobiledu.cn in China

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that its service BBC Learning English has launched on Mobiledu.cn, Nokia’s new mobile English Language Teaching (ELT) platform in China.

    Hundreds of millions of English-learners in China will now be able to use their mobile phones to take authentic and modern English learning courses provided by the BBC, including Take Away English, Real English and Quizzes.

    Mobiledu.cn is a new learning application software specifically developed by Nokia for mobile devices. Nokia director of Mobiledu.cn, Peter Zhang, said: “As a new interactive learning tool, Mobiledu.cn makes learning possible anywhere and any time, and that is why it has been very popular in the market.

    “As more users install Mobiledu.cn on their Nokia phones, more people can access and enjoy the convenience and value brought by Mobiledu.cn.”

    BBC World Service business development manager for China and North Asia, Raymond Li said, “China is a very special market. It has the largest number of English learners and is the world’s largest mobile market with more than 460 million users of mobile phones. We have been keen to establish ourselves in China, and this partnership with Nokia and its mobile learning platform, Mobiledu.cn, is a real milestone in bringing our world-class content to learners of English.”

    Nokia sales and marketing manager of Mobieldu.cn, Angela Long says, “Mobiledu.cn provides content which meets the various demands of users on learning, work, entertainment and life in general. The BBC is one of the best-known and authoritative brands in the industry, and, by bringing its Learning
    English content into our service, we are hoping to provide our users with a better learning experience – in addition to the BBC brand image which is strong among English-learners in China.”

    BBC Learning English head Andrew Thompson says, “BBC ELT has been popular in China for a long time and already has a huge number of fans right across the traditional media platforms of radio and online. This launch on mobile devices offers our audience a convenient new way of learning English interactively anywhere and any time and also expands the BBC’s English Learning offer in China.”

  • BBC Vision launches new multiplatform strategy

    MUMBAI: The BBC has announced that its integrated multimedia broadcast and production group BBC Vision will have a new strategy for multiplatform commissioning, content creation and delivery.

    BBC Vision is looking to double investment in multiplatform, with an additional £30 million in funding over the next three years, subject to the BBC’s reprioritisation plans. A new architecture has been created for BBC Vision on the web.

    For the first time, every television programme will have its own website with web support provided at three prioritised levels: Basic (created automatically), Enhanced (for 50+ programmes a year) and 360 (rich content for 15+ programmes a year);

    There will be a new suite of user tools for rating and sharing content, improved search and navigation for users. There will also be a new, simpler commissioning process for multiplatform initiatives with a single point of commission (ie one genre commissioner for both TV and multiplatform elements), and one commissioning route via a standard e-commissioning system.

    BBC Vision will also organise new, ring-fenced investment for mobile commissioning in three areas: Mobile television (clips and broadcast TV), social media, and location specific initiatives.

    To craete awareness there will also be a year-long communication campaign to share audience research, market knowledge and BBC Vision’s requirements in-house, across the BBC, and with the wider independent sector. BBC Vision director Jana Bennett says, “BBC Vision was created in part to place the BBC at the heart of the multimedia landscape. We have a real advantage that’s born out of our scale and the range of our talent and skills here. I believe that together we can define this new creative space in terms of public service content and populate it with ideas that are distinctive and innovative.”

    BBC Vision controller of portfolio and multimedia Simon Nelson says, “It’s too easy to dismiss the multiplatform opportunity as simply getting our programmes onto new devices or creating websites alongside programmes. The lack of a commercial imperative and the privilege of licence fee funding oblige [the BBC] to drive innovation and break new ground in attempting to serve all audiences in the UK. We will be able to liberate our content from the limitations of the live linear schedule…

    “We can use the two-way nature of new media platforms to transform our relationship with licence fee payer collaborating with audiences in the creation of content and participative experiences.”

  • BBC Vision launches new multiplatform strategy

    MUMBAI: The BBC has announced that its integrated multimedia broadcast and production group BBC Vision will have a new strategy for multiplatform commissioning, content creation and delivery.


    BBC Vision is looking to double investment in multiplatform, with an additional ?30 million in funding over the next three years, subject to the BBC‘s reprioritisation plans. A new architecture has been created for BBC Vision on the web.


    For the first time, every television programme will have its own website with web support provided at three prioritised levels: Basic (created automatically), Enhanced (for 50+ programmes a year) and 360 (rich content for 15+ programmes a year);


    There will be a new suite of user tools for rating and sharing content, improved search and navigation for users. There will also be a new, simpler commissioning process for multiplatform initiatives with a single point of commission (ie one genre commissioner for both TV and multiplatform elements), and one commissioning route via a standard e-commissioning system.


    BBC Vision will also organise new, ring-fenced investment for mobile commissioning in three areas: Mobile television (clips and broadcast TV), social media, and location specific initiatives.



    To craete awareness there will also be a year-long communication campaign to share audience research, market knowledge and BBC Vision‘s requirements in-house, across the BBC, and with the wider independent sector. BBC Vision director Jana Bennett says, “BBC Vision was created in part to place the BBC at the heart of the multimedia landscape. We have a real advantage that‘s born out of our scale and the range of our talent and skills here. I believe that together we can define this new creative space in terms of public service content and populate it with ideas that are distinctive and innovative.”




    BBC Vision controller of portfolio and multimedia Simon Nelson says, “It‘s too easy to dismiss the multiplatform opportunity as simply getting our programmes onto new devices or creating websites alongside programmes. The lack of a commercial imperative and the privilege of licence fee funding oblige [the BBC] to drive innovation and break new ground in attempting to serve all audiences in the UK. We will be able to liberate our content from the limitations of the live linear schedule…



    “We can use the two-way nature of new media platforms to transform our relationship with licence fee payer collaborating with audiences in the creation of content and participative experiences.”

  • BBC News triumphs at International Emmys

    MUMBAI: BBC News has won won two awards in the news categories of the International Emmys. The BBC’s coverage of last summer’s Lebanon conflict won the International News award.

    A current affairs commission took the only other international award for Baghdad: A Doctor’s Story which was broadcast on BBC Two as part of the This World strand.

    Guardian Films made the documentary with Ben Summers producing and with assistance from the BBC News Baghdad team. Louise Norman was the executive producer for This World.

    Baghdad: A Doctor’s Story was shot by an Iraqi doctor in a Baghdad emergency room. He agreed to film his own hospital anonymously to bring the truth about the civilian casualties to light.

    The 28th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards ceremony was held in New York. Media industry executives, journalists, and producers attended the event which honours outstanding achievement in television journalism by individuals and programmes, distributed via broadcast, cable and broadband.

    BBC director of news Helen Boaden said, “Our overall coverage of the Lebanon conflict was an outstanding collaboration between teams across all platforms and this award recognises the journalistic excellence of BBC News.

    “Baghdad: A Doctor’s Story by Guardian Films was a brilliant commission by Current Affairs. It took a lot of nerve and tremendous bravery on the ground, to deliver this extraordinary and memorable film.”

  • CNBC to introduce new shows for Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI: CNBC is planning to expand further into the Asia Pacific region by introducing new programmes and shows.

    CNBC will be launching new local programming initiative and introduce an expanded local news and operations team on October 2, said an official release.

    The business news channel is planning to launch two new shows which includes Trading Matters and Australia This Week to be anchored by Australian business news journalist Oriel Morrison. Morrison was formerly with the Nine Network, Sky News, Channel 7 and Bloomberg.

    The Trading Matters will provide Australian investors with real time, actionable information on local share and market performance with access to the country’s investors and money managers- revealing the inside track on opportunities for both the institutional and retail investor. While the half hour show Australia This Week will screen a summary of the key events after the close of trade that shaped the week – deals, market and policy decisions.

    CNBC Asia Pacific president and managing director Jeremy Pink said,”CNBC has enjoyed tremendous growth in Asia Pacific this year. These new Australian initiatives are part of a significant investment that we have committed to further expanding in the region.”

    CNBC Asia Pacific director, news and programming John Casey said, “We take our business seriously because there is nothing more important than getting it right when people’s money is on the line. 60 per cent of CNBC’s viewers act on the accurate and unbiased information they get from us so we are sure CNBC’s new initiatives will resonate with the business and investing communities, both in Australia, and also around in the region.”

  • BBC World Service introduces a new musical identity

    MUMBAI: For the first time in over seven years the BBC has introduced a fresh musical identity to the BBC World Service.

    Composer and musician David Lowe, commissioned to work as a composer-in-residence at the BBC’s famous Bush House studios, created the sounds that now introduce and accompany BBC programmes.

    BBC World Service editor Steve Martin said, “We felt it was about time we gave the BBC World Service a contemporary and easily recognisable musical identity. We commissioned David Lowe and he worked very closely with journalists in the newsrooms and broadcasters heard on air everyday. Together they produced sequences which are a perfect fusion of David’s music and our presenters’ familiar voices.

    “Some people may question why music is so important to a speech-led broadcaster but music speaks volumes about the personality of our radio station. The innovative musical beds will help listeners to identify and distinguish the BBC on what are increasingly cluttered radio air-waves across the world.”

    Lowe said, “I really enjoyed being immersed in the BBC news rooms. I used to work in radio so I really felt at home in this environment. Just being in Bush House amongst people who are themselves creative was also inspirational. The studios are so well designed and wonderfully sound proofed, such a peaceful place to work. All in all a wonderful experience.”

    His new music can now be heard at the top of each hour and throughout popular BBC news programmes including The World Today, Business Daily, World Briefing, World Have Your Say.

  • IFJ urges government to review licence suspension of 2 channels

    NEW DELHI:The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the government to reconsider the summary termination of broadcast permission granted two satellite TV channels – Live India and Jeevan TV.

    While Live India TV was ordered off the air for one month as a penalty for airing a fake “sting” operation wrongly implicating a school-teacher in Delhi in a prostitution racket, the Malayalam channel Jeevan TV was taken of the air for failure to comply with the revised guidelines for satellite uplinking and for airing news programmes without security clearance.

    The IFJ noted that the banning of a channel for an arbitrary period of one month without due process of law serves no public purpose and the government should have waited for the legal process to take its own course against the channel. The IFJ agreed that there may be a case against the channel and a credible case to be made for lawful recompense to the school-teacher who suffered serious trauma and irreparable damage to her reputation on account of the fake “sting” operation.

    Jeevan TV, which has been broadcasting since July 2002, has similarly been ordered off the air without even an appearance of due process.

    “Whatever their motivations, these actions of the Indian government only highlight its continuing failure to enact a credible regulatory framework for the broadcast sector,” said IFJ Asia Pacific director Jacqueline Park.

    “The law must be allowed to run its course in the case of India Live TV and Jeevan TV must be given a fair hearing in an appropriate forum before it is ordered off the air,” Park said.

  • Metro Nation: NDTV corners English city-based news space

    NEW DELHI: NDTV today moved into a niche space – an English metro-based channel that is locally focussed in both its content and revenue model.Metro Nation Delhi is the first of the five FTA channels it plans to roll out.

    Metro Nation Delhi, which NDTV claims is the the first English, city-based channel in the country, has been on air since 24 September.


    Announcing this, Dr Prannoy Roy, chairman, NDTV Ltd, said that this would complement the English newspapers and cater to a so far unaddressed TV viewership of five million.


    The value for the money invested is clear: Delhi has a retail and local advertisement kitty that runs into millions of rupees, and has been so far tapped by only small local vernacular newspapers.


    Roy said the company‘s research shows that this is a market of sophisticated retailers and other advertisers – from malls to eateries and entertainment hubs that would willingly pay a steep tariff if they can reach out to this TV viewership market.


    This is not a ‘pure‘ news channel, Roy explained, but both news and non-news channel that would provide information and localised content, which includes the likes of live shows of college debates (with the one from Miranda College already aired).


    Sanjay Nigam, CEO in charge of the channel, said this would be news you can use, which includes road traffic updates, as well as everything that a denizen of Delhi would need to know to be abreast of what‘s around.


    NDTV has clearly also sought to take a pinch from the Citizen Journalist concept, but made it radically different, in that colourful taxis, a fully operational studio (OB Van) and a dedicated chopper would feed in news.


    The taxis and the bus would move from area to area and bring in local people, take their views and air them Live, Suparna Singh, head of promos and editorial chief at the new channel explained.


    Asked whether this is their version of Citizen Journalist, Roy took a snap at rival channel CNN IBN: “This is different, because journalism is a professional thing and just as there cannot be a citizen doctor or a citizen engineer, we are not looking at a citizen journalist.


    “We believe that this will make the channel interactive, though the citizen may not be able to talk to the anchor, but his or her views can be aired directly.”


    Singh stated another of the USPs of the channel: “We believe Delhi is worth fighting for,” and explained that the channel will be young, progressive and proactive, and would take up all the problems of the city and fight for the citizen‘s rights.


    Asked to how far NDTV would take such fights, Roy stated that the fights about governance would be deadly serious and would be taken to the end.


    “The channel is being driven by young people with ‘kinetic energy‘,” Singh said, adding that there are 125 people on board.


    But there are similar channels in Hindi which have the same formula, so would language be the only differentiator?


    Responding to this, Nigam said that the NDTV foray into this arena would be marked by its old track record of credibility and reliability, dismissing the vernacular channels as overtly sensationalised and hardly credible.


    In fact, Nigam said that when there is a stress on globalisation, this move towards localisation may seem like an anachronism, but it was not, as today, Delhi is almost like a country.


    “The people need info that will navigate the lives of Delhiites,” Nigam said, which would be the “unique value proposition” for the channel.


    There are many, many Delhis today, and the days of South Delhi ending in Lajpat Nagar are over, and there are many categories of people not from all walks of life but all regions and many countries who need to stay abreast of this city.


    This is the specific market the NDTV plans to corner and not just in Delhi; in another few months, there would be four more channels, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, each with its niche programming and sharp local focus.


    Roy parried all questions on financial issues, but insisted that there is enough monetary depth in this market to give them a clear sense of fast-track business.


    This is why, at least officially, Metro Nation channel would not slash its advertisement tariff, but would offer competitive prices, Roy said and claimed that already there are people wanting to come on board.


    While the channel would be FTA, Roy admitted that it would go on one of the DTH service providers, but refused to divulge the name, stating simply: “We have a commitment on DTH.”