ITV

Tag: UK pubcaster

  • BBC Trust sets strategic priorities for UK pubcaster

    MUMBAI: The BBC Trust has published final remits to guide the BBC in meeting each of the six public purposes laid down in the Charter.

    In a letter from the BBC Trust Chairman to BBC DG Mark Thompson, Sir Michael Lyons said, “As we discussed on several occasions… the BBC faces a complex set of demands. It is therefore important for the Trust to set clear priorities and realistic expectations informed by our research.”

    The six public purposes, which the BBC is required to promote through all its output, are:

    – Sustaining citizenship and civil society 
    – Promoting education and learning 
    – Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence 
    – Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities 
    – Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK 
    – Emerging communications 

    Earlier this year, after consulting widely on draft priorities in each of these areas, the Trust highlighted “innovation and distinctiveness” as the single biggest issue for all audiences and published research showing there was demand for more new programmes and fresh ideas from BBC television. This remains the Trust’s top priority and, to ensure a proper understanding of what people want in response, they commissioned some in-depth analysis, a summary of which is also published today.

    Lyons said, “What we have learned is that audiences do not want a radical change of direction from the BBC: there is support for programming in every genre, and they value the familiar BBC classics that no one else offers. It seems that, although there is more choice of channels across UK television as a whole, people nonetheless perceive there to be less choice of programmes and they are keen to see the BBC give greater prominence to the range of its high quality work. That said, this is not just about perception. People do expect the BBC to avoid well-trodden paths, and they are clear that their expectations of the BBC are different from other broadcasters.”

    Among several priorities singled out by different audience groups as important and not necessarily in need of improved BBC performance, the Trust also highlighted news and current affairs, formal education for children, and serving audiences in the devolved nations and those in areas further away from the South-East, as top priorities for the BBC.

  • UK unions announce BBC strike ballot

    MUMBAI: UK unions are to ballot for industrial action across the BBC, following moves by the UK pubcaster to push ahead with plans for compulsory redundancies.

    The decision to hold a ballot was taken jointly by the NUJ, Bectu and Unite, the three unions representing staff across the BBC.

    A strike ballot had been averted in October after managers backed down on plans to begin the process of cutting 2,500 posts without consulting the unions.

    However, BBC Vision has now announced that it will begin selecting people for compulsory redundancy, despite the fact that over 300 people have expressed an interest in voluntary release.

    Unions have criticised the decision to begin the compulsory redundancy process without first agreeing on the release of volunteers, potentially putting a large number of people at risk of losing their jobs.

    NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said, “We’ve been very clear with the BBC that any attempt to force through compulsory redundancies will result in a ballot for industrial action. Our members are already deeply concerned about the strain they will be put under as a result of the BBC’s cutbacks. Now management is piling on the pressure by leaving thousands of people uncertain about whether they will have a job in the new year, even though it appears that many of these cuts could be dealt with through voluntary redundancies.

    “When a negotiated settlement is within reach it is madness for BBC to force experienced staff out the door. At a time when the BBC needs top-class management it is suffering from poor decision making.

    “We urge the BBC to rethink its decision which makes a mockery of the voluntary redundancy process and to come back to 
    the table to discuss how we can deal with these changes without resorting to industrial action.”

    The BBC issued a statement. “It’s difficult to understand, particularly given the very positive position with volunteers in some areas of the BBC where compulsory redundancies are now much less likely, why our unions (NUJ, BECTU and UNITE) have decided to ballot for strike action.

    “It’s important to say that the vast majority of staff will not be affected by the proposed job reductions. A strike will inevitably hurt the people who pay for our services. It will not change the overall economics of the BBC. The bottom line is that increasing expenditure in one area means reducing it in another.

    “The BBC remains above all committed to distinctive quality programmes and services for all licence fee payers. We will continue to have local dialogue with our staff and unions during this time.”

  • BBC Worldwide unveils slate for ATF

    MUMBAI: From Sir David Attenborough to Jeremy Clarkson, Michael Palin to Jane Austen, Cinderella to Igglepiggle, UK pubcaster the BBC ‘s commercial arm BBC Worldwide goes to this year’s Asia Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore with a crop of natural history, factual, children’s, drama and lifestyle titles and a range of formats that will be available for local production.

    BBC Worldwide’s natural history slate opens new chapters while drawing others to a close. Wild China, the BBC’s first ever co-production in China, offers insight into that country. Life in Cold Blood, which tells the epic story of reptiles and amphibians, completes Sir David Attenborough’s landmark overview of life on the planet.

    In the drama catalogue, Mistresses stars Sarah Parish and Sharon Small. It follows the lives and loves of a group of 30-something girlfriends. Fairy Tales, whose cast includes James Nesbitt and Denise Van Outen, offers grown-up adaptations of four childhood classics – Cinderella, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Billy Goat’s Gruff and Rapunzel.

    Andrew Davies, who had earlier adapted Bleak House and Pride and Prejudice for the pubcaster has now turned his hand to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, while the team behind Primeval present a re-imagining of Frankenstein and the team behind Hotel Babylon present The Whistleblowers, a new high-speed thriller.

    From the BBC’s factual, lifestyle and history teams come Warriors. This is a show based on the lives of men such as Napoleon and Spartacus who shaped the world around them. Michael Palin’s New Europe sees the comedian and traveller continue his global odyssey, this time exploring the countries that are part of the so-called new Europe. The motoring magazine show Top Gear will also be showcased.

    BBC Worldwide’s children’s catalogue includes In The Night Garden, a modern interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture book from Ragdoll, the creators of Teletubbies, and two new animation series: Animalia, based on the hugely popular books by Graeme Base, and Freefonix, an adventure series following three musical renegades.

    New formats include Dance X, recently licensed to ABC in the US, which pits rival dance teams against each other. Find Me The Face is a reality show which follows two top talent scouts as they look to find the next big supermodel. On Fortune – Million Pound Giveaway, five philanthropists give away a million pounds of their own money to deserving members of the public. School’s Out is a quiz show which sends celebrities back to school and tests whether they are top or bottom of the class.

  • BBC’s ‘Panorama’ to expose unsavoury deals at Fifa

    MUMBAI: A British football chief has revealed how a Fifa VP asked him to pay Football Association money into his own personal bank account.

    The former chairman of the Scottish FA, John McBeth, has told UK pubcaster the BBC’s show Panorama that a top Fifa executive Jack Warner asked him to make the match fee cheque payable to him personally, following an international match in Edinburgh.

    It is one of a series of suspect dealings involving Fifa. Panorama asks why Fifa’s ethics committee – run by Lord Sebastian Coe – is not taking action.

    Other questions about foul play directed at world football’s governing body include:

    Why a FIFA official, branded a liar by an American judge, is now Fifa General Secretary; why no-one has been prosecuted after falsifying documents in the same case – a crime punishable by up to five years in prison; and why a Fifa executive committee member was allowed to pay his national team players only £500 each for their participation in the World Cup, despite securing lucrative sponsorship deals – and then blacklisted them from the national team when they complained.

    Panorama asked Lord Coe why the ethics committee was not looking into these issues. He declined to answer or give any details of his job, referring all queries to Fifa, the body he is supposed to be monitoring.

    McBeth first expressed concerns about corruption in Fifa after being chosen to fill Britain’s post on the Fifa executive committee in May this year. He pointed the finger at football officials in Africa and the Caribbean – but was dropped just days before starting his new job amid accusations of bigotry and racism from Vice-President Warner.

    However, he is adamant that this was a merely a smokescreen and that he was sailing far too close to the truth for some Fifa members. McBeth says, “There are one or two people on that executive committee that I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw. I was talking about the football people that I’ve met and dealt with in Africa and the Caribbean. It was football people I was talking about. I wasn’t talking about the nation. I’m not a racist bigot and I think it probably says more about Jack and him trying to deflect away the criticism that I was making of corruption.”

    Speaking for the first time on the subject, McBeth has revealed how Warner, who represents Fifa in North and Central America and the Caribbean, asked him to pay a match fee directly into his personal account.

    Previously, Warner was found guilty by Fifa’s ethics committee of touting thousands of World Cup tickets through his family travel company in Trinidad. Yet he escaped with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He was also accused of “ripping off” Trinidad and Tobago’s players following last year’s World Cup.

    The Panorama investigation has also found that some of Fifa’s actions in relation to a sponsorship deal amounted to criminal activity, punishable by up to five years in prison in Fifa’s home nation, Switzerland.

    FIFA attempted to drop its sponsor MasterCard and replace it with Visa, contrary to a long-standing agreement, and was taken to court in New York by MasterCard, where the judge condemned its actions.The man who led FIFA’s marketing team, Jerome Valcke, admitted lying to both MasterCard and Visa.

    The BBC adds that despite the serious nature of the case, Lord Coe’s ethics committee has took no action. And when Panorama asked Lord Coe why he was not looking into this case he declined to talk. Warner and Valcke also declined to comment.

  • BBC on FM in Maldives for first time

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC World Service’s English radio programmes can now be heard on FM for the first time in the Maldives capital of Male.

    BBC World Service news bulletins, sporting and current affairs programmes will broadcast daily on Capital Radio 95.6 following the signing of a new agreement with their owner Asna Maldives Pvt Ltd.

    BBC business development manager for the South Asia Pacific region Helen Kathuria said, “The BBC has a strong tradition of loyal listenership in this region so it’s great that we can reach yet more people in crystal clear FM quality sound. We are also delighted to be partnering with one of the first private radio broadcasters in the Maldives.”

    Asna Maldives MD Abdulla Nasheed added, “We are proud to be associated with the world’s leading international radio broadcaster and thrilled that our listeners can now enjoy the BBC’s unique mix of news, sports and feature programmes across the city.”

  • BBC Worldwide opens local production office in India

    CANNES: UK pubcaster the BBC‘s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has announced the opening of its Indian production office.
    The office, headed up by Saul Nassé, will be responsible for bringing the production expertise of the BBC to the Indian market and working with local talent in India to produce and deliver world class television.

    The Indian office, which will trade as BBC Worldwide Productions India, is BBC Worldwide‘s third local production base. It will complement BBC Worldwide‘s hugely successful Los Angeles production studio – which currently works with all the major US networks and is responsible for producing the record-breaking Dancing with the Stars on ABC – and its production company in Australia, a joint venture with Freehand.

    Making the announcement at the ongoing television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, France BBC Worldwide MD content and production Wayne Garvie said, “India is one of the most important and successful territories for BBC Worldwide. This local production office underlines our commitment to Indian broadcasters and audiences and firmly positions BBC Worldwide as a leading global content network. Under Saul‘s leadership, I‘m confident that the office will quickly become a key player in India‘s growing television industry.”

    Nassé added, “I have spent the past year in India, setting up the office and meeting representatives from all the many broadcasters with whom BBC Worldwide works. Two indisputable facts: local productions are by far the most popular programming in India and BBC Worldwide has one of the world‘s richest catalogues of television content and formats. Taken together, therefore, the Indian production base offers genuine synergy. I‘m delighted that the office is now open for business.”

    BBC Worldwide has enjoyed a strong distribution business in India for many years as well as close relationships with all the networks. Standout local production successes include Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Dancing with the Stars, which has just started its second series on Sony. Other shows that have been done are The Weakest Link, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.

    Nassé recently led the BBC‘s India & Pakistan ‘07 season, having previously been Editor of Tomorrow‘s World and Acting Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC. Working alongside Nassé will be Sonia Chowdhry, Creative Director, Development and Special Projects, BBC Worldwide Productions India. Chowdhry launched the award-winning Haath Se Haath Milaa (Let‘s Join Hands) programme for the BBC World Service HIV/Aids campaign in India and was Head of Programming for Nickelodeon in India. She will be driving the future business of the company, working with the development teams in London and pitching to local broadcasters.

  • BBC Worldwide acquires travel information group Lonely Planet

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC has acquired travel information group Lonely Planet in a deal that will build the Lonely Planet franchise around the world.

    The privately owned business is being sold by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who founded the company in 1972, and John Singleton who became a shareholder in 1999.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, “We are delighted to be announcing this acquisition today. Lonely Planet is a highly respected international brand and a global leader in the provision of travel information. This deal fits well with our strategy to create one of the world’s leading content businesses, to grow our portfolio of content brands online and to increase our operations in Australia and America.”

    Lonely Planet, which has operations in the UK, California and Australia, is led by the CEO Judy Slatyer and her management team, who will be staying with the business. Lonely Planet’s global headquarters will remain in Melbourne.

    Maureen and Tony Wheeler, joint founders, who will retain a 25 per cent shareholding in the company said, “Joining BBC Worldwide allows us to secure the long-term future of our company within a globally recognised media group. In our discussions with John and his team, we felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level.”

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “Closing this prestigious deal is a great feather in the cap for BBC Worldwide, its management and the BBC overall. It is further evidence of BBC Worldwide’s ability to become a major international media player. It is testimony to BBC Worldwide’s reputation that the Wheelers believe we are the right partner to take the business forward, given the many organisations that have approached them over the years. We are all convinced that the association will strengthen Lonely Planet’s visibility and growth potential, particularly in the digital arena, as well as providing their users access to the wide range of BBC content which connects with their interests – from Michael Palin’s New Europe to Planet Earth.”

    Lonely Planet publishes around 500 titles including specialist activity guides, shoestring guides and phrasebooks. It publishes in various languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. The company also produces and develops factual programming for international broadcasters (Lonely Planet Television).

    Its flagship TV series, Lonely Planet Six Degrees, produced for Discovery is now in its third season, and screens in over 100 countries. Meanwhile, Lonely Planet’s website receives 4.3 million unique visitors a month and Lonely Planet’s travel video site, lonelyplanet.tv, is establishing a valuable online community of independent travellers, allowing travellers to upload and watch their own video as well as view videos created by Lonely Planet.

    Maureen and Tony Wheeler adds, “We will remain completely focused on the delivery of unique content to our travellers around the world. We are very optimistic about the prospects for the Lonely Planet brand under the BBC Worldwide umbrella.”

  • 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 Worldwide profits up 24 per cent to £111 million

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC, has published its Annual Review for 2006-07. Profits are up 24 per cent to £111.1 million. It recorded sales of £810.4 million including BBC Worldwide’s share of joint ventures (2005-06: £785.1m).

    The proportion of sales to outside the UK was up by five per cent year on year to 46 per cent. Investment in BBC-commissioned programmes was also up at £96.3 million from £89 million in 2005/06, with total programme investment at £103.6m.

    Highlights of the year include continued strong profits growth, healthy international sales of hit shows and formats around the world, the refreshing of the company’s wholly owned channel portfolio and laying the foundations for strong digital revenue growth.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith says, “BBC Worldwide has achieved a three-fold increase in profits in the last three years. We have exceeded expectations in most of our businesses over the past 12 months, reflecting healthy returns from our new Channels business, strong TV catalogue sales and growing demand internationally for BBC formats. We are now investing to build our digital offering and strengthen our position in markets such as the US, China, India and Australia, creating one of the world’s premier content networks.”

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “BBC Worldwide has reached a watershed. It has proven capable of delivering against a demanding business plan with commercial efficiency; it now is poised to grow significantly with new product lines and in exciting markets.”

    BBC DG Mark Thompson says, “BBC Worldwide continues to deliver excellent returns for licence payers from the content they help fund us to make. Its success is increasingly critical to our ability to invest in original creative programming for audiences in the UK, and the company is playing major part in taking those programmes out to the rest of the world.”

    Global Channels recorded sales of £169 million and profit of £20.9 million. 28 channels are available in over 259 million homes around the world, broadcasting in 15 different languages. New BBC-branded channel portfolio was developed. These are BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies and BBC HD.

    BBC Entertainment replaced BBC Prime in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. It launched in India earlier this year together with the pre-school brand, CBeebies.

    Global Channels joined forces with the distribution and ad sales teams from BBC World allowing the teams to present a single face to market for all six BBC-branded channels. UKTV, the joint venture with Virgin Media, had a good year with its Sky carriage deal being renewed, commercial audiences growing by 18 per cent and an ad sales performance above the market average.

    BBC Worldwide recorded global TV sales of £216.4 million and profit of £40.2 million. BBC Worldwide TV sales and content and production revenue broadly accounted for 38 per cent of total UK TV exports last year (compared to 32 per cent the previous year).

    The year’s most successful new titles included Doctor Who, Robin Hood, Torchwood, Life on Mars, 9/11 – The Twin Towers and Planet Earth. The latter was viewed in 95 countries and territories and grossing in excess of £22m in global sales to date.

    Sales to Europe (ex-UK) were up by 23 per cent from £46.5 million to £57.1 million, aided by a country by country analysis of market tastes and tailored sales strategy.

    Sales to the Americas were up by 17.2 per cent but profits were impacted by a high proportion of co-production deals on which BBC Worldwide makes lower margins and the US dollar weakening against sterling.

    In the rest of the world profits were up 26.9 per cent although the strong pound had some impact on results. The BBC’s first ever co-production with China was secured – Wild China with CCTV. In Australia drama was a particularly powerful revenue driver.

    The key event of the year remains BBC Showcase. This, BBC Worldwide says, is the world’s largest trade event hosted by a single distributor. In February 2007, the event boasted 600 hours of new content and attracted over 550 buyers from all over the world. BBC Worldwide’s catalogue now includes 2000 hours of programming available for digital distribution and over 220 hours of High Definition content.

    BBC Worldwide’s FM radio joint venture with Mid Day Multimedia Ltd saw the re-launch of the radio station in Mumbai, plus new stations launching in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.

    In the Content and Production division sales were £52.9 million. Profit was £9.5 million. Growth was driven by the success of Dancing with the Stars, a hit in over 41 countries. Existing formats continued to deliver, such as Weakest Link in France, Friends Like These and The Generation Game in South Africa, and It Takes Two and Honey We’re Killing the Kids in Australia and New Zealand.

    Just the Two of Us became the first BBC entertainment format to be licensed to a Chinese broadcaster (Hunan TV). In Australia, where it plays as It Takes Two, a second series launched in 2007. The format has also been licensed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia, Croatia and the Ukraine. A joint venture deal was announced with Australian independent producer, the Freehand Group. A worldwide network of local production offices was planned. BBC Worldwide is also developing loveearth.com, a natural history portal to support the launch of Earth the movie in autumn 2007/08.

    Magazines sales were £171.3 million and the profit was £20 million. The firm says that the magazines division performed well in a flat market, growing its circulation revenues and increasing its share of advertising revenues. One in four UK adults reads a BBC title every month. The year’s best-performing magazines were Top Gear, Good Food, Doctor Who Adventures and CBeebies Weekly in terms of circulation growth. Subscriptions across portfolio now up to 650,000. International licences up to 33 across 57 territories.

    Worldwide Media, a JV with the Times of India, secured licence to publish Hello! in India in May. Magazine websites bbcgoodfood.com and radiotimes.com were improved and relaunched. Countryfile magazine will be launched later this year.

    Losses in children magazines (previously a stand-alone business) continued and the business was moved into Home Entertainment where it can benefit from the combined management expertise in publishing and licensing. Sales from merchandising licences grew to almost £9 million (highest level for five years); Doctor Who was the fastest-growing licence in the UK children’s market in 2006.

    Digital media sales were £13.9 million. The division concluded a series of video on demand (VOD), web distribution and mobile deals around the world. New VoD customers included Netflix in the US and Telstra Big Pond in Australia. Investments went into key propositions bbc.com and the commercial media player. Digital Media is now responsible for the delivery of new websites or the re-launches of existing sites across all areas of BBC Worldwide.

    A global content agreement was announced with YouTube in March. Four million videos were viewed on the BBCW channel on YouTube in its first month of operation. New mobile clients included mobile operators TU Media in Asia, Vodafone’s New Zealand network and the 3 network in Ireland. BBC Motion Gallery, which is BBC Worldwide’s TV clip sales business, announced a clip distribution deal with China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.

  • BBC, Bob Geldof to map mankind

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC, its commercial arm BBC Worldwide and Bob Geldof have announced an intention to collaborate on the Dictionary of Man, a unique and ambitious anthropology project that will record every human society on the planet.

    The Dictionary of Man website will be a limitless repository of content, an immense digital catalogue of all current human existence and an enormous resource for the exchange of ideas and information.

    The BBC will, in tandem, produce for television a series The Human Planet. The eight-part series will be produced in a unique collaboration between the BBC’s world-renowned Natural History Unit, BBC Bristol Features and Documentaries and BBC Wales.

    The project will use every available medium to create what it says will be the largest ever living record of films, photographs, anthropological histories, philosophies, theologies, economies, language, art, and documented and personal accounts from people of every society across the globe. It will serve as a definitive record of us – Mankind – at the beginning of the 21st century.

    20 years ago Geldof was sitting on a tree stump in Northern Niger with a regional governor, looking out at what Geldof described as “a moonscape”. The governor told of how 300 different languages that once existed had disappeared forever in just two years during the famine. Geldof has written, “Even though I never heard those languages, I already miss them. In these ways the lights of human genius wink out.” From then on he was determined to record “all those sounds, voices and jokes so they never disappear again”.

    Announcing the Dictionary of Man project at the MipTV conference in Cannes, Geldof, who is working in partnership with award-winning producer/director John Maguire, said, “This will be an A to Z of Mankind which will catalogue the world we live in now, the people who share this planet, the way we live and the way we adapt to face common and different challenges. Mankind is the world’s most extraordinary animal. In an age of globalisation and increasing connection, we face the growing homogenisation of cultures and the disappearance of extraordinary and diverse mechanisms that man has invented in order to survive in whichever environment he has found himself. Culture is a function of survival.”

    With the cooperation of the great institutions of the world all extant photographs, archives and records will be included. Anthropologists, social historians and experts in many other disciplines will be involved as, over the years, the degrees of human difference are gradually logged.

    The architecture of the site will use the very latest social networking technologies in order to allow individuals across the globe to track and trace their national, clan, tribal, family and individual dispersals and reconnect to far-flung and ancient versions of their family or group members. “Ultimately I suppose in some ways we’re also building the World’s Family Photo Album,” said Geldof.

    Simultaneous to this vast site, Dictionary of Man crews will travel the globe to capture on film 900 of the separate groups of people that anthropologists believe to be in existence. Experts suggest that there could be up to 27,000 variations alongside the core 900.

    All the collated material will be available through the Dictionary of Man website, an encyclopaedic volume of DVDs featuring hundreds of hours of programming, books, magazines, CDs, exhibitions, theatrical and all media platforms.

    Filmed in high definition, the TV series The Human Planet will be an epic record of how different peoples adapt to different surroundings. As they’ve done before with The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, the BBC now turns its attention to Man – the Miracle Animal. “Only the BBC with its scope, scale, ambition, professionalism and reputation could possibly achieve this massive project and I’m proud to be associated with the Natural History Unit, one of the most renowned and respected parts of the BBC,” said Geldof.

    This project goes to the heart of the modern BBC – only two months ago Director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett, called for a response to the challenge of what she called 360 degree media, referring to the digital age and the dissemination of content. The Dictionary of Man and The Human Planet places the BBC at the very edge of modern media and its capability.

    Bennett said, “Coming from joint production teams with this pedigree, The Human Planet promises to be spectacular television. It will give us the chance to meet and understand the people who share our planet in a way we’ve never seen them before. In joining forces with Bob Geldof, we have one of the world’s foremost humanitarians as an ally as we create a legacy for both current and future generations. More importantly, this is not just about television, it’s about 360 degree media on a scale we’ve never seen before. Public service – why the BBC exists.”

    BBC Worldwide, will act as facilitator in seeking international partnerships for the initiative. BBC Worldwide director of content and production Wayne Garvie says, “BBC Worldwide has a vast amount of experience in working with global partners and we are looking forward to using our international relationships to pursue all the opportunities this huge and exciting project can bring.”