MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has signed a deal with RTL that sees the German commercial broadcaster become a co-production partner on the BBC Natural History Unit?s forthcoming series ?Hidden Kingdom?.

This will be the first time RTL has worked with BBC Worldwide to co-produce a natural history series and the broadcaster joins other co-production partners Discovery and France 2.

Commissioned for BBC One, ?Hidden Kingdom? takes a microscopic look at nature and transforms small worlds into giant places. The series will take viewers on an immersive journey into strange lands where tiny animals are living incredible and dramatic lives.

RTL head of infotainment Agnes Ostrop will act as executive producer on behalf of RTL and a tailored 1x90 German language version of the series will deliver to the network for broadcast in primetime.

BBC Worldwide head of German speaking territories Isabelle Helle said, "?Hidden Kingdom? is an exceptional project using innovative storytelling techniques to bring audiences a new and in depth perspective on this fascinating world. RTL has long been a valued partner of BBC Worldwide and we are thrilled they are venturing for the first time into natural history co-producing on this phenomenal project."

Executive produced by Mike Gunton, the three part series will take the BBC Natural History Unit?s renowned photographic techniques and shrink them down to show the world on a different scale. The series will be filmed in some of the planet?s most iconic places, likely to include the Amazon Rainforest, African Savannah and Mojave Desert.

BBC Worldwide has also signed a new programme licensing deal with RTL for 45 hours of content.

Factual titles ?Bomb Squad? and ?Bomb Hunters? will premiere on RTL?s new free-to-air channel RTL Nitro. Also going to free-to-air on SuperRTL will be Robin Hood (S3) and the adventure drama Sinbad.

?Brazil with Michael Palin? leads a slate of informative titles
premiering on RTL Living including ?Jimmy?s Forrest?, ?How to Grow a Planet? and ?After Life - the Strange World of Decay?, while RTL Crime will host suspense drama ?The Body Farm? and Left Bank?s thriller ?Mad Dogs?.

MUMBAI: BBC has announced plans for Euro 2012 which kicks off on 8 June. Coverage will be led by Gary Lineker and will include 16 live games, including a potential England quarter final, both semi finals and the final.

Harry Redknapp will join Jurgen Klinsmann, Clarence Seedorf and David James in the lineup alongside regulars Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Lee Dixon.

Redknapp rejoins the BBC team following his involvement in the 2010 World Cup: ?I?m really looking forward to working with the BBC team again on what should be a terrific tournament.?

He?ll join the on-air team broadcasting from the state-of-the-art studio based at BBC Sport?s new home at MediaCityUK in Salford. Using the very latest in augmented-reality virtual graphics, Motion Analysis and VizRT, the team will bring the atmosphere and flavour of every live game to audiences across the country.

Jake Humphrey will lead the coverage from Poland and Ukraine, while Gabby Logan will bring all the news and updates direct from the England camp.

In addition to comprehensive TV coverage, the BBC will also bring audiences full coverage of the tournament across radio and online platforms. On radio all games will be covered via BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra whilst a raft of online tools, alongside live streaming of BBC games will mean viewers can follow the tournament wherever they may be.

BBC head of TV Sport Philip Bernie said, ?We are really looking forward to our top team covering the European Championships. We have an excellent line-up of talent to present and comment on all the action and hope to see England progressing as far as possible, with the BBC showing all their knockout matches live.?

Radio 5 live controller Adrian Van Klaveren said, ?Euro 2012 is the start of a spectacular summer of sport across 5 live and 5 live sports extra. From the first kick to the final whistle, we?ll make sure our listeners can hear all the action and news as well as having their say on air and online."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MUMBAI: Channel 4 has become the new home of British horseracing after securing a four year terrestrial rights deal with the Racecourse Media Group (RMG), in association with Jockey Club Racecourses, Ascot Racecourse and other independent racecourses.

As a consequence, BBC, which was the incumbent rights holder, will no longer showcase British racing on its terrestrial platforms.

The four-year partnership will deliver around 90 days a year of terrestrial coverage of horseracing on Channel 4. The new arrangement will see all 35 races in the QIPCO British Champions Series of premier Flat racing broadcast on Channel 4.

Channel 4 will now exclusively broadcast the racing calendar from 2013 - Aintree?s three-day John Smith?s Grand National meeting, the Investec Derby Festival from Epsom Downs, Royal Ascot and the QIPCO British Champions Day from Ascot will come to the Channel.

Channel 4?s chief creative officer Jay Hunt said, "We are delighted Channel 4 is to become the sole destination for British horseracing after securing such iconic events as Royal Ascot, the John Smith?s Grand National and the Investec Derby. These will sit alongside our established coverage of The Cheltenham Festival and major flat meetings such as Glorious Goodwood and the Ebor Festival and means we can extend our distinctive approach to all the crown jewels of the sport."

The broadcaster aims to employ distinctive approach to marketing and promotion to bring the sport to committed racing fans and strengthen its relationship with younger and broader audiences alike and will seek to introduce new innovations and enhancements to the production values of its racing programming over the course of the new rights period.

Negotiations were led by Racecourse Media Group (RMG) alongside The Jockey Club, Ascot Racecourse and British Champions Series Ltd as rightsholders with Martin Baker, Director of Commercial Affairs, at the helm of the Channel 4 team.