ITV

Tag: PBS

  • Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    MUMBAI: Netflix has tossed a lifeline to Sesame Street, bringing the beloved children’s show to its 300 million subscribers while keeping it on PBS in the US. The 56-year-old kids’ favourite will now stream new episodes on both Netflix and PBS on the same day, a rescue move after HBO dropped its funding.

    The deal is a double delight for Sesame Street fans—new episodes will be available worldwide on Netflix, while PBS viewers in the US will continue to get free access. But behind the cheerful puppets, it’s a story of survival.

    Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the iconic show, has been struggling financially after losing its lucrative HBO deal, which paid $30 million to $35 million a year. Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent, decided to drop the series as it shifts away from children’s content.

    To cope with the financial blow, Sesame Workshop laid off 20 per cent of its staff this year and warned that the Netflix deal will bring in significantly less revenue. But it’s not all doom and gloom. With Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s trusted brand, Sesame Street is now set to reach more kids than ever.

    In Season 56, the show will focus on character-driven stories, with each episode featuring an 11-minute tale packed with humour and heart. Classic characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster will return, along with a peek inside the iconic 123 Sesame Street building.

    “This unique public-private partnership allows us to continue our mission of educating kids, now with Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s community trust,” said Sesame Workshop CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin.

    Sesame Street’s Netflix run will also include 90 hours of classic episodes, bringing the joy of learning to a new generation.

     For kids and parents, the message is clear: the street is still where the fun and learning meet.

  • GRB Media Ranch to sell ‘Blind Dating’ format to ABY Media

    GRB Media Ranch to sell ‘Blind Dating’ format to ABY Media

    Mumbai: GRB Media Ranch president, Sophie Ferron announced the format sale of “Blind Dating” to Africa’s ABY Media and the acquisition of four-time Emmy-winning docu-series Medical Stories. Produced by Inventi Media Group and airing on PBS, this production has 39 episodes (39×30’) currently available.

    Blind Dating: In this classic studio-based dating game show, three single men and three single women must make the perfect match to win a date. In each episode, without seeing each other, the participants must find their love by answering personal questions while digging for clues – and some dirt – on social media. Watch these singles try to impress, get picked and go home with a mate. A hit show in French Canada for many years!

    Medical Stories: This acclaimed docu-series captures drama through the lens of cinematic storytelling.  It captures the experiences of medical and emergency personnel and their heroic actions and extraordinary measures taken while battling life-threatening conditions of critically ill or injured patients. Follow their emotional journeys as individuals as they navigate their way through illnesses and injuries, often unknown, from the moment of receiving an accurate diagnosis to seeking out support. In-depth commentary is included from renowned medical experts and researchers, providing valuable insight into baffling conditions and the cutting-edge techniques used in developing novel treatments. These intertwined narratives offer viewers a message of hope, empowerment, and awareness of diseases that are often overlooked both by the public and the medical community.

    Ferron stated: “The format sale of Blind Dating is especially meaningful to me. I grew up on the set of this series, as my father created and produced it in Canada. It remained a huge hit and was remade twice for new generations. He passed away last year and would be proud to see it travel. I thank GRB Media Ranch’s Liz Levenson for closing this deal with Bernard Azria of ABY Media for many African territories. We are also excited to have acquired Emmy-winning docu-series, Medical Stories which clearly underlines our commitment to delivering diverse and compelling narratives. We are here at MIP to discuss all our fantastic properties. At GRB Media Ranch, we’ve got stories.”

    Kimberley Azria of ABY Media stated “ABY Media is very happy to have acquired this special Format from our partners at GRB Media Ranch. We know that it will be a popular show in Africa with many audiences!”

    Inventi Media Group’s executive producer and director Brian Chris Capozzi stated: “Inventi Media Group is thrilled that GRB Media Ranch is representing our award-winning series Medical Stories for distribution. Their expertise in the global marketplace is well-known and respected. With them, we are confident that viewers in other parts of the world will soon be experiencing the heartfelt and dramatic stories from our series.”

    Inventi Media Group’s executive producer and director Bob Buruchian added “GRB Media Ranch’s global representation of our Medical Stories series is a source of great excitement for our team. With their esteemed expertise, we’re confident our compelling narratives will captivate audiences worldwide.”

  • India’s PFT Clear Media ERP suite to help US’ PBS content delivery

    India’s PFT Clear Media ERP suite to help US’ PBS content delivery

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, announced that its CLEAR™ Media ERP Suite has been selected by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to enhance their Network Operations Center (NOC) ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, with the objective of reducing operational costs for content providers by migrating content delivery, initial QC (quality control) and transcoding operations to the cloud. PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content.

    PFT will deploy CLEAR’s Broadcast Cloud and Operations Cloud modules for automating PBS’s complete Direct to NOC file delivery process. All short turn external file-based content intended for the NOC will be ingested through CLEAR, thereby streamlining the member station organization’s process of receiving media across their ecosystem of content providers. PBS and PFT worked with member station Maryland Public Television to evaluate and deploy the system. CLEAR will also manage core operations like NOC-based media processing, initial automatic Quality Control (QC), delivery, storage and external file transfers. The deployment will also empower PBS’s team with a unified dashboard to track the status of business processes throughout the NOC in real time.

    “We expect that implementing CLEAR will help us improve operational efficiencies and increase throughput as we move a portion of our content operations to a cloud-based solution,” said PBS Operations VP Renard T. Jenkins.

    “Increasing the speed and accuracy of the NOC daily tasks, while improving access and visibility throughout the NOC delivery process is a step in the right direction for us. We feel it will enable us to focus on the imminent challenges ahead such as a future redesign and overhaul of PBS’ entire Media Supply Chain. We look forward to starting a new chapter in our journey to the cloud.”

    “We are excited to be supporting the team at PBS as they embrace digital transformation. Tailored specially to meet the content management needs of Media & Entertainment (M&E) enterprises with sprawling supply chains, CLEAR is perfectly positioned to help PBS improve efficiencies, lower costs and better serve their member stations,” said Prime Focus Technologies SVP Chris Ziemer.

  • ‘Indian Summers’ to commence telecast on PBS

    ‘Indian Summers’ to commence telecast on PBS

    NEW DELHI: PBS will soon commence telecast of the British drama Indian Summers, which had earlier been telecast by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and won accolades.

     

    The 10-episode British drama set in India in 1932 has been made by Masterpiece and shows the first signs of the end of British rule in India.  

     

    According to the story, members of the British ruling class are making their annual holiday retreat to the Himalayan foothills in Shimla where a brash old-school maven Cynthia Coffin (Julie Walters), runs a successful whites-only social club and schemes to advance the career of a snooty diplomat Ralph Whelan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), hoping to get him named as the next Viceroy.

     

    While this is the main story, there are many subplots including the arrival of Ralph’s mysteriously widowed sister, Alice (Jemima West), and her baby son.

     

    A young Indian clerk Aafrin (Nikesh Patel) not only takes an assassin’s bullet meant for Ralph in the first episode slated for 27 September but also comes across evidence that suggests the attempt was not the revolutionary act it was reported to be.

     

    Julie Walters, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth and Lillete Dubey star in this saga.

     

    Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas and tea plantations of Northern India, the drama tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. But at the heart of the story lie the implications and ramifications of the tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that define the lives of those brought together in this summer which will change everything. 

     

    Indian Summers is the first Channel 4 commission from New Pictures. It is a co-production with Masterpiece on PBS in the US. It is created and written by Paul Rutman, directed by Anand Tucker and produced by Dan McCulloch. Executive producers are Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke and Simon Curtis, and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece on PBS.

     

    Indira Varma is co-executive producer for the series commissioned by Piers Wenger and Beth Willis for Channel 4. Indian Summers is being distributed internationally by All3M International.

  • Carlton, Towers Productions alliance for TV docs

    Carlton, Towers Productions alliance for TV docs

    CHICAGO: Carlton Productions and Towers Productions have entered into a three-year strategic alliance agreement. The two parties plan to collaborate in developing documentary programmes for both the US and international markets.

    Carlton recently produced the special Watergate Plus for PBS. According to an official release, the operations of the companies complement each other very well. Pooling resources to develop, pitch and produce specific projects means maximisation of the impact both companies make across cable, PBS and in international co-productions.
     

    Documentary production house Towers Productions chief executive officer CEO Jonathan Towers said, “We are thrilled to be entering this venture with Carlton. As a production company that has built its reputation in the US cable market with series such as American Justice, True Crime Authors and Storm Stories , we are looking to extend our reach into the international market.” Its client roster includes CNN.
     

    Carlton Productions is a part of the UK media company Carlton Communications. Carlton has businesses in free-to-air television broadcasting and advertising sales, content production, library ownership, distribution and cinema advertising. Carlton Productions produces programming for all the main broadcasters in the UK, including BBC, Channel 4 and Channel Five and major cable/satellite channels such as Sky.
  • American SC upholds ban of political ads on public radio and television

    American SC upholds ban of political ads on public radio and television

    NEW DELHI : While lawyers dismantle many restrictions on political money, the rules affecting Morning Edition and Downton Abbey still stand tall. A federal court in San Francisco says public radio and TV stations cannot carry paid political ads.

     

    The 8-3 decision Monday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling last April by a smaller panel of the court. NPR and PBS both joined the case as friends of the court.

     

    The court upheld the decades-old bar against political ads on public broadcasting stations, even as other restrictions have vanished over the years. One long-gone rule held that funders could only be listed by name.

     

    The case just decided – Minority Television Project vs. FCC – began as a bid to take any commercial advertising. Among the arguments rejected by the appeals court, the TV station invoked the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling of 2010, which allowed corporations to spend freely advocating for or against candidates..

     

    Two dissenting judges argued that the station did not get a fair shake because “judges like public radio and television, while pretty much nobody likes commercials.”

  • PBS launches preschool second screen app for WordWorld

    PBS launches preschool second screen app for WordWorld

    MUMBAI: WordWorld, the three-time Emmy award-winning educational television series broadcast on the US PBS Kids, is launching a second screen integration for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch with a new early learning app: Fun with WordFriends, rapidtvnews.com reports.

    The new WordWorld app features interactive games that help young children learn to recognise letters and form words to provide the fundamental building blocks for learning to read.

    Utilising the same foundations established by the Department of Education-funded study which demonstrated that the WordWorld television programme improves children‘s literacy skills, the WordWorld: Fun with WordFriends app is the first in a series of interactive WordWorld learning tools for preschoolers.
    The app allows preschoolers to build words that come to life as the objects they represent.

    "Millions of parents worldwide know and trust WordWorld as an early learning platform for young children. Working with PBS, we‘re leveraging our award-winning content to develop fun and exciting early learning applications in the digital space," said WordWorld Director of Interactive Content Eric Kriegstein.

  • PBS Kids to air ‘Franny’s Feet’ with Spanish track in US

    PBS Kids to air ‘Franny’s Feet’ with Spanish track in US

    MUMBAI: Pre-school series Franny’s Feet will now be available on PBS Kids with a Spanish language track beginning 7 October. Thirteen/WNET and Decode Entertainment have brought the weekly series for four- to seven-year-old children to television in markets across the United States. 

    Viewers will also be able to access the Spanish-language track or DVS (descriptive video service for the visually impaired) using the Secondary Audio Program (SAP), informs an official release.

    The PBS Kids broadcast of Franny’s Feet is produced by Decode Entertainment in association with Thirteen/WNET. Decode has also produced additional content to accompany the PBS Kids broadcast. The new segments, in which Franny prompts audience participation, are highly interactive and build young viewers’ understanding of educational content explored in the episode. The PBS Kids version of Franny’s Feet also includes new sing-along music videos. 

    The fun continues online, where kids can join Franny on adventures around the world-from Africa to South America, to the South Pole — and all kinds of places in between at www.pbskids.org, adds the release.

    Franny’s magical adventures transport her to places around the world, where she meets new friends and tries to help them solve problems, sharing her feelings, fears and advice with the audience along the way. In every episode, while helping her grandpa in his shoe repair shop, Franny slips on a pair of shoes and says “Where will my feet take me today…?” From there, the adventures are limitless. Global awareness, science and vocabulary development are woven together with storytelling for a seamless, entertaining and interdisciplinary learning experience. 

  • BBC News appoints Sanjoy Majumder as India correspondent

    BBC News appoints Sanjoy Majumder as India correspondent

    MUMBAI: BBC News has appointed Sanjoy Majumder as its India correspondent. He will be based in Delhi and report for various outputs of BBC including BBC World television, BBC World Service radio and the BBC News website.

    Majumder, who started his career joining BBC’s online operations in London in 1999, was posted to the BBC’s south-Asia bureau in Delhi in 2001 as the first overseas correspondent for the BBC News website. Since then he has been heading the BBC’s online operations in the region, informs an official statement.

    During this time he has reported extensively for the BBC online, radio and television outlets from India as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Some of the events he has covered include general elections in India and Sri Lanka, Afghanistan’s first presidential elections, the tsunami in Sri Lanka, the Kashmir issue, the anti-king protests in Nepal, and most recently, the Mumbai blasts.

    He was born in London and grew up in Africa, the Middle East and India. He graduated with a degree in English from St Stephen’s College, Delhi and then went on to do his master’s in radio/TV/film from Northwestern University in the United States. Prior to joining the BBC, he taught at several colleges in the US and also worked for the American television networks, NBC and PBS.

    BBC south-Asia bureau editor Paul Danahar says: “As the world’s leading international broadcaster and trusted news source, the BBC is committed to bring its audiences credible and impartial journalism. Sanjoy Majumder is an experienced journalist with a background of reporting across platforms such as radio, television and online. I am confident that he will add to the depth and breadth of the BBC’s coverage from this region.”

    Commenting on his new role, Majumder adds: “I am excited at the opportunity to report from India at a time when the country’s presence on the global stage is growing. With the world increasingly looking at India and China over the next decade, the BBC’s role, and that of the India correspondent, in understanding and analysing complex events in this dynamic country and presenting it to an international audience is particularly significant.”

  • US pubcaster PBS announces online download initiative

    US pubcaster PBS announces online download initiative

    MUMBAI: US pubcaster PBS has announced the launch of a download to own initiative that lets viewers purchase episodes of its programmes via the Internet for viewing anytime, anywhere.

    PBS has teamed with Open Media Network, a non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the best of public broadcasting and educational programming to the Internet via
    www.omn.org.

    PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger says, “PBS and our local stations are undergoing a transformation from traditional television broadcasting to a vibrant 21st century digital public media service.

    “Open Media Network is helping us accomplish this by offering favourite PBS programs for sale directly to the online audience. We’re excited to partner with another non-profit organisation committed to bringing PBS’ award-winning content to the public.”

    Open Media Network (OMN) uses the Internet to bring online audiences educational programming. It provides its service free of charge to other non-profit and service institutions while utilising advanced video and audio delivery technology. Programming is delivered in full DVD quality and is then viewable on a variety of devices, including notebook computers, portable media players, cell phones and set top boxes.

    Open Media Network founder Mike Homer says, “Some of the most informative, thought provoking programmes on television are brought to us by PBS and its member stations. Making this content available through Internet downloads for anytime, anywhere viewing means that we can help PBS bring it to a much larger audience than ever before.”

    OMN says that it brings advantages to PBS, NPR and public broadcasters that extend viewership and encourage audience participation. OMN lets public broadcasters across the country, like KQED (San Francisco), Idaho Public Television and WGBH (Boston), offer their television and radio programs from their own websites using their own brands or through OMN’s website, increasing their potential audiences.

    Showcasing the local associations PBS stations have within their communities, PBS programmes downloaded through OMN will soon carry a spot encouraging viewers to become members of their local PBS station.

    Viewers can start watching PBS content now by going to www.omn.org and downloading the free OMN internet TV player. Each episode is $1.99 for unlimited playbacks, except for Nova which is priced at $7.99 per episode.