ITV

Tag: BBC

  • BBC’s show ‘Spooks’ to examine the relationship betweeen the US, UK and Iran

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that its spy show Spooks will return later this year on BBC One. The complex relationship between the UK, Iran and the US is put under the spotlight … but who can really be trusted under this new world order? In India the show airs on BBC Entertainment which is carried on Tata Sky.

    Over the course of 10 hour-long episodes, Adam, Harry and the team are immersed in their most intricate operation to date. The broadcaster says that the distinction between friend and foe becomes ever more blurred. Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris and Peter Firth return as officers Adam, Ros and Harry of Section D, MI5.

    Raza Jaffrey, Miranda Raison and Hugh Simon also reprise their roles as Zaf, Jo and Malcolm, and welcome new arrival Connie played by Gemma Jones. In the drama, Iran’s covert scheme to become a nuclear power leads to growing mistrust between the British, American and Iranian governments, who all nurse their own agendas to help or hinder the Middle Eastern state in its efforts.

    The volatile climate culminates in a series of high risk operations both at home and abroad. The opening episode sees Zaf, undercover in Tehran, attempt to place a bomb on a civilian train in an effort to flush out a key Iranian spy, an act which could have dangerous ramifications not only for Zaf but for the whole team.

    Meanwhile, the electric atmosphere between Adam and Ros comes to a head, but things are complicated further by Adam’s dangerous ongoing affair with a key asset inside the Iranian embassy.

    Spooks producer Katie Swinden says, “For the first time ever, we’ve chosen to explore one theme throughout the series, and one which is an ongoing concern in today’s world affairs agenda. The relationship between Britain, Iran and the US is such a delicate and topical issue that it opens up a wealth of new storyline possibilities to us.

    “Audiences will be able to follow Adam, Harry, Ros and the team as they take on their most challenging operation to date, and will get to see them in a whole new range of dangerous and exciting situations.”

    The BBC executive producer Sarah Brandist says, “Spooks, one of the autumn highlights for both BBC Drama and BBC One and this year, takes on a more global feel by telling bigger, bolder stories across a wider landscape.

    “BBC One viewers, who are already eagerly awaiting the gang’s return, will be treated to an explosive opening two-parter and, from then on, the action flows from beginning to end. Spooks has returned in style.”

  • BBC establishes an editorial standards board

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has established an editorial standards board, chaired by the BBC’s Deputy DG Mark Byford, and comprising the BBC’s most senior output directors, has been established and is undertaking a major programme of work in this area. This group has met weekly and has overseen the work. BBC DG Mark Thompson made this announcement while providing an update to the BBC Trust in which he reported substantial progress in delivering a package of tough and rigorous measures to address concern over recent editorial breaches in competitions and voting.

    Thompson says, “The BBC-wide review of our output since 2005 is now completed, and four further serious editorial breaches had been found. None of the further editorial breaches involved premium rate telephone lines. An unprecedented programme of editorial training, Safeguarding Trust, will begin in November. It is expected that all 16,500 BBC production and content staff will participate in the mandatory training programme. This programme is not simply about reinforcing the imperative to understand and comply with all of the BBC’s values and editorial standards, including truth and honesty, but in that context will enable staff to debate the right production techniques in light of the current debate about artifice in programmes. Training materials will be made available to other broadcasters and independent producers.”

    A phased and controlled return of competitions on BBC programmes and online, which are currently suspended, is also expected to begin in November following a strengthening of editorial guidance and control. Competitions will now be approved and supervised at a senior level within each output area. Thompson reported to the Trust that he expected a significant reduction in the number of competitions being broadcast by the BBC, but he recognised that audiences very much enjoyed taking part in BBC programmes in this way.

    A full independent inquiry into the incident involving the BBC One autumn season launch and Her Majesty The Queen, which is being conducted by Will Wyatt CBE, is expected to report to Thompson next month. The findings of this inquiry will be made public once they have been considered by the BBC Trust. 

    Thompson also informed the Trust that he has commissioned a new online project which will enable the public to explore how contemporary media content is produced. The BBC believes this will be a major contribution to media literacy in Britain.

    A BBC working party on the use of premium rate telephony in programme and content areas has made progress Thompson says. This includes the development of new editorial and operational guidance which will form part of the overall management response on strengthening editorial compliance. The group is also revising the BBC’s policy on the use of premium rate tariffs and is looking to set up a system of approved service providers of telephony.

    Thompson will meet his counterparts in the commercial public service broadcasters later this month to discuss ways of working together to build and restore public confidence and trust in the light of editorial issues across the industry.

  • BBC launches season asking ‘Why Democracy?’ globally

    MUMBAI: The Why Democracy? season is a multimedia event – exploring the state of democracy in the world today – with the BBC at its heart.

    From next month, the season will run globally on TV, radio and online, on over 40 broadcasters, in over 200 countries and territories – a potential audience of 300 million people.

    In the UK, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC World, BBC Parliament, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service will all run programming dedicated to the idea of democracy.

    Central to the season are ten documentaries, made by filmmakers from around the world, taking a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the nature of democracy. Subjects include US torture in Afghanistan, the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school, Che Guevara and the Danish cartoons controversy.

    Why Democracy? has teamed up with Metro Newspapers worldwide, and The Observer in the UK, to ask national leaders, celebrities and everyday people to answer ten questions about democracy. Their answers will appear online, in the press and in a series of short films. The same questions will be part of a global opinion poll.

    And people all over the world can join in the discussion on the web. A global film premiere on MySpace.com will launch the online debate. whydemocracy.net will host discussion forums, chat rooms, educational resources and interviews with key figures who have had a direct hand in shaping democracy.

    The ten films in the season include:

    Please Vote For Me: Weijun Chen’s comic but profound film charts the election of the class monitor in a Chinese school. At first all goes well, but soon the manipulation and dirty tricks start, posing the question of whether democracy could ever exist without them.

    Looking For The Revolution: Here Rodrigo Vazquez travels to Bolivia to see whether the idea of a revolution started by Che Guevara 40 years ago is still alive today. Evo Morales seems to be trying to keep revolution on the agenda, but others wonder whether it can ever actually happen.

    Taxi To The Dark Side: Dilawar, a young Afghani taxi driver, was arrested and tortured to death by United States forces in Bagram. Oscar-nominated director Alex Gibney provides a forensic account of how such abuses became possible, and finds a trail leading to the door of the White House.

    Bloody Cartoons: Life and livelihood were at stake when a small Danish newspaper chose to print a selection of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Karsten Kjaer looks at the events that followed and travels the world to question the protesters and explore their motivations. Could the Muhammad cartoons have affected the future of free speech?

  • BBC announces BBC Sports Unsung Hero award

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC will celebrate individuals from the world of grassroots sport with the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award 2007. Across the UK everyone is invited to nominate people who have made a difference to their community through sport.

    Now in its fifth year, the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award, supported by Robinsons, recognizes and rewards outstanding contribution by individuals at the grassroots level of local sport.

    A local winner will be chosen in each BBC English region and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    They will be joining the sporting stars of today at Birmingham’s NEC in December, where the overall UK winner will be announced.

    One can nominate people who, on a voluntary basis, prepare facilities, roll the pitch, coach the juniors, run local sports leagues or work behind the scenes so that sport can be played and enjoyed throughout the UK.

    A shortlist of regional nominees in each area will be chosen by the local BBC panel of judges.

    Those shortlisted nominees will be invited to attend a regional BBC Sports Awards event, attended by a host of the region’s sports stars, when an overall regional winner will be announced. Bursaries of up to £2,500 are available to winners of each regional award, to help them with their work in sport.

    These 15 regional winners will be joining the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony at the NEC in Birmingham, where a UK winner will be chosen.

  • BBC appoints Nazerali as controller of MC&A for global news

    MUMBAI: BBC has roped in Sanjay Nazerali as the controller of marketing, communications and audiences (MC&A) for its global news division.

    Nazerali who joins BBC in September will be leading the MC&A teams at BBC World Service, BBC World television, BBC Monitoring and the BBC’s international online news services.

    He will be responsible for building a single brand platform across the global news division. He will also be responsible for developing the marketing communications strategy to ensure that each part of the division has maximum impact in a converging media environment. He will directly report to BBC global news director Richard Sambrook.

    Sambrook said, “We created this pan-divisional post to enable us to communicate a unified and compelling global news message around the world. He has a wealth of international experience in developing brand strategies within the broadcast, entertainment and retail industries, and I believe that with Sanjay on board we are now ideally positioned to take our international news brands to the next level.”

    Nazerali said, “In an age where newspapers are becoming ‘viewspapers’ and the numbers of blogs are increasing exponentially, audiences around the world are crying out for credible news, but delivered in an engaging way. The time is absolutely right for the world’s best known news organisation to connect with these audiences as a compelling and dynamic brand in an increasingly competitive and complex news arena. I’m genuinely honoured to be part of this organisation, as I believe it can really make a difference to how the world receives and interacts with news in the future.”

    Earlier he was been working as the managing director of The Depot. The Depot is a marketing consultancy he co-founded in 1998. He has worked with media clients like Channel 4, ITV, Discovery, the Sci-fi Channel, FX Channel, BBC World Service and BBC World Television.

  • BBC Learning English launches on Chinese portal Sina

    MUMBAI: Visitors to Chinese web portal, sina.com.cn, can now learn English with the BBC. The site offers its users direct access to the BBC Learning English content specially tailored for Chinese-speakers.

    BBC Learning English teaches various points of the English language through human interest stories and topics including UK lifestyle and culture.

    Visitors to sina.com.cn now can learn to read, write and speak English through the BBC’s four popular Learning English features: Take Away English, Quizzes, Ask About Britain and Off The Pitch.

    Take Away English consists of units which learners can literally “take away” as MP3 and PDF text downloads. Topics, which range from the latest Harry Potter book and online gaming to Chinese football players, include listening and reading exercises and an audio glossary.

    The Quizzes section offers learners an interactive test of their English vocabulary and grammar and helps them with teacher feedback. Ask About Britain answers users’ questions on British life and culture while Off The Pitch helps football enthusiasts to learn new words and phrases on the game.

    Commenting on the partnership deal with sina.com.cn, BBC World Service Business Development Manager for China and North Asia, Raymond Li said, “We are delighted to partner with sina.com.cn to provide quality English learning content in China. The Internet has become an increasingly popular and effective learning platform among young people, and to cater for this audience the BBC has been building up successful partnerships with a number of Chinese portals over last few years. This latest partnership with sina.com.cn will help us reach more online learners in China, therefore bringing more benefit to them, too.”

    sina.com.cn executive VP and chief editor Tong Chen says, “As the world’s number one Chinese portal site, sina.com.cn is very pleased to have BBC as our partner. This co-operation will enable us to provide online users in China with the most authoritative, professional, advanced English learning materials in the world, thus helping to improve English teaching and learning all over China.”

    BBC Learning English offers English language teaching programmes and online content for a global radio and online audience. English learning materials are available online at bbclearningenglish.com and, for Chinese speakers, on bbcchina.com.cn.

  • BBC programming to be off FM stations in Moscow

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has been informed by the owners of the Moscow FM radio station Bolshoye Radio that BBC programming in Russian will no longer be broadcast on the station.

    This was BBC Russian Service’s last FM distribution partner station in Russia. It follows two
    other FM partner stations ceasing to take BBC programmes over the last nine months.

    The owners of Bolshoye Radio, financial group Finam, have told representatives of the BBC Russian Service that they are required to remove BBC programming at the request of Russian licensing authorities, or risk the station being taken off-air.

    The UK pubcaster says that it understands that this will take effect in advance of its scheduled block of programmes this afternoon at 17:00 Moscow time (MT).

    The BBC intends to appeal to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage. It will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.

    According to official warnings received by Finam from the regulatory body, the licence requires that all programming must be produced by Bolshoye Radio itself.

    However the BBC said that the detailed concept documents – the basis on which the licence was awarded in February 2006 – clearly state that only “60 per cent of the station’s total output will be original material produced by Bolshoye Radio.”

    The BBC also stated that according to the same concept documents, the station would also have up to 18 per cent foreign produced content. This percentage of foreign content is reflected in the station’s licence.

    The concept documents of the station include the BBC and Voice of Russia as content providers and as integral parts of the output – specifically in order to enable the station “to reflect many and often
    contradictory views on current affairs”.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook said, “We are extremely disappointed that listeners to Bolshoye Radio in Moscow will be unable to listen to our impartial and independent news and information programming in the high quality audibility of FM.

    “The BBC has invested a great deal of energy and resources into developing high quality programming for the station. The BBC has similar broadcasting arrangements with partner stations around the world. Our services are available on FM in over 150 capital cities – some 75 per cent of the global total.

    “The BBC entered into the relationship with Bolshoye Radio in good faith, and the licence was won in a competitive tender in February 2006. We cannot understand how the licence is now interpreted in a way that does not reflect the original and thorough concept documents.

    “We are appealing to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and
    Protection of Cultural Heritage. We will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.”

    The BBC and Voice of Russia have been on Bolshoye Radio since May this year. The station, which was sold in July to financial investment company Finam, was currently at a test signal stage ahead of an official launch planned for the autumn.

    The BBC has had previous problems with FM broadcasting in Russia. At the end of 2006, Moscow station Radio Arsenal ceased taking BBC programming, and in early 2006 the St Petersburg station Radio Leningrad also stopped taking BBC programmes. Radio Leningrad informed the BBC that it had been required to stop broadcasting BBC programmes by local licensing authorities.

    BBC Russian programmes continue to be audio streamed online at bbcrussian.com.

  • BBC kicks off sale process for BBC Resources

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has announced today that the process for the sale of its commercial subsidiary, BBC Resources has begun and an advertisement is to appear in the Financial Times, Times and UK trade magazine Broadcast on Thursday, 16 August. The sale is subject to the necessary approvals by the BBC’s Executive Board and the BBC Trust.

    BBC Resources provides broadcast production facilities and services, and consists of three divisions: BBC Outside Broadcasts, BBC Studios and BBC Post Production.

    The sale comes as a result of the Commercial Review whereby the Corporation reviewed all its commercial businesses. The Commercial Review team concluded that the BBC should only own commercial businesses that either export or exploit the BBC brand or content; whilst the services provided by BBC Resources are vital to the BBC, they do not need to be owned by the BBC anymore.

    The BBC has already sold BBC Broadcast to Macquarie. The BBC believes that the combination of BBC Resources under new commercial ownership and a continued partnership with the BBC will mean the Corporation can leverage its strong relationship and heritage with BBC Resources.

    A new owner will provide the profitable and cash generative business with further opportunities for growth, which are not available whilst it is owned by the BBC, balanced with the stability of ongoing contracts with the BBC.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith says, “We are committed to getting the best value for the BBC and licence fee payers, whilst putting staff interests at the heart of the process.”

    BBC project director Andrew Thornton who is leading the sale says, “This is a unique opportunity for any potential bidder; it’s not everyday such a treasure trove of outstanding expertise and skills comes on the market. We are looking for a partner that will nurture this and continue to work closely with us to provide the unrivalled quality of services we need, as well as to capitalise on this in the wider industry.”

    BBC Resources CEO Mike Southgate said, “BBC Resources is full of talent, with a world-class reputation for understanding production values and programme making, both at the BBC and across the media marketplace. Taking our BBC heritage, the sale offers us the chance to grow the business and continue to lead the rapid changes taking place.”

    It is expected that the sale of the business and transfer of BBC Resources staff to the successful bidder will take place by the end of March 2008, subject to contract negotiations and approvals.

    The BBC recognises the importance of staff in the sale process and says that it will fully consult with the Unions and work closely with staff to achieve a smooth transition during this process.

  • BBC begins filming fourth season of ‘Dr. Who’

    MUMBAI: BBC has announced that the fourth season of Doctor Who has started filming, with Catherine Tate joining the drama series as The Doctor’s brand new companion Donna Noble.

    The season will kick off in the UK on BBC One next year. In India the show airs on BBC Entertainment which is being carried by Tata Sky.

    Tate is reprising her role as Donna, the runaway bride who featured in last year’s Doctor Who Christmas special. The start of the new series will see Donna tracking down the Time Lord during an alien emergency in modern-day London.

    The couple are destined to experience a series of wonderful adventures throughout the new series including meeting one of Doctor Who’s most popular aliens, The Ood, in a brand new episode, Planet Of The Ood.

    Donna and The Doctor – David Tennant – will also be travelling through time for an encounter with the legendary murder mystery novelist, Agatha Christie.

    Agatha Christie will be played by Jekyll star Fenella Woolgar and The Good Life actress Felicity Kendal will star as Lady Clemency Eddison.

    Doctor Who’s executive producer and head writer, Russell T Davies says, “Visiting Agatha Christie has been on my wish-list for ages now and, for the Doctor, it’s a real meeting of minds! Viewers can expect many more ambitious storylines and a whole host of guest stars in 2008.”

    Agatha Christie’s grandson Mathew Prichard says, “What a brilliant idea that Agatha Christie and Doctor Who should meet! Two characters whose contribution to British entertainment is absolutely unrivalled.

    “As far as I know my grandmother, Agatha Christie, never saw Doctor Who, but I am sure she would have been intrigued, excited and above all flattered by all this attention in 2007.”

    Tate says, “I am delighted to be returning to Doctor Who. I had a blast last Christmas and look forward to travelling again through time and space with that nice man from Gallifrey.”

    Freema Agyeman who has played Martha Jones, The Doctor’s companion throughout the critically acclaimed third series, will return to the show to join The Doctor and Donna mid-series.

  • Mark Freeland to head BBC’s comedy division

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC has announced that Mark Freeland is to take up one of the key creative roles at the organisation as the head of comedy for Vision Studios.

    This area has produced shows like Only Fools And Horses, The Office, Little Britain and The Thick Of It.

    Freeland joins from Hartswood Films and takes up his post in September, bringing with him over 20 years of experience in TV and comedy. He will be in charge of in-house comedy production across all four television networks as well as radio comedy and entertainment, working with some of Britian’s most acclaimed producers, writers and performers.

    Between 2002 and 2005, Mark was head of comedy commissioning at the BBC, and responsible for commissioning, executive producing and developing comedy across the four BBC channels – working closely with in-house and independent production teams. Series included Nighty Night, The Catherine Tate Show and The Kumars At No 42.

    Freeland will take up his job at BBC Television Centre on 3 September, replacing Jon Plowman who last month announced he was stepping down to return to programme-making with the BBC after 14 years at the helm.

    BBC Vision chief creative officer Peter Salmon said, “Mark is stepping into one of the great jobs in British TV and radio. He is a much respected figure in the industry and brings with him a wealth of experience and relationships from across the UK production sector that will prove vital for one of the key creative jobs in the entire BBC. Under Mark, comedy will continue to grow as one of the powerhouses of in-house BBC production.”

    BBC Comedy Studio is currently making a wide range of programmes for all networks from the likes of Jam And Jerusalem and The Life And Times Of Vivienne Vyle from the pen of Jennifer Saunders, a Christmas special of Extras from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, a second series of That Mitchell And Webb Look for BBC Two, to newer titles like Spacehopper and The Visit.

    Freeland said, “I am very excited to be going back to the BBC as head of comedy. I am looking forward to leading a department that has an incredible heritage, an exciting present and a future of outstanding potential.I wish I could have it both ways, as I am enormously grateful to Hartswood Films and will miss the Vertues’ unique talent, experience and generous guidance.”