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Sunday, February 20, 2011

BBC Worldwide signals commitment to channels in India


BBC World
India a “tier one” market for BBC’s channel brands and content
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, will today signal its long-term commitment to expanding in India with the announcement of a programme of new investment into its BBC channels, BBC Entertainment and CBeebies.
The commitment is part of BBC Worldwide’s plans to increase its focus internationally.  Over the past year 55% of the organisation’s revenue came from international businesses – up from 46% in 2006. BBC Worldwide’s target is to have two-thirds of its sales come from overseas business by 2012 and India is seen as a key market to help reach this target. BBC Worldwide will announce its investment programme at a reception it is hosting today for a UK Government-led trade delegation to India, attended by Prime Minister, David Cameron, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt. 
Speaking at the reception, Darren Childs, Managing Director, BBC Worldwide Channels, will outline the attractions of the Indian pay-TV market.  These reflect the country’s demographics, its rapid economic growth trajectory and a consumer appetite for high quality British television content. Childs also outlined the history of BBC’s presence in India explaining that there are three BBC branded channels there with BBC World News also broadcasting alongside CBeebies and BBC Entertainment.
Darren Childs, Managing Director Channels, BBC Worldwide comments: “India is a country which we believe is a great fit for our channels with a large English speaking population, good BBC brand recognition and a strong affinity with the UK.  We have identified India as a tier one priority market and will be actively investing to bring more quality content and increasing distribution here.  The Indian pay TV market already has significant scale, and its future potential for subscription and advertising is exciting”.  
Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt, says: “The BBC is a world class broadcaster and producer of creative content and this additional investment by its commercial arm signifies the importance of India as a market for the UK.  I am delighted that the UK has yet again demonstrated its capability as a global player in innovation and look forward to the further potential for UK/India collaboration in the creative sectors.”
BBC Worldwide Channels currently operates an international network of 41 TV channels, available in every habitable continent, reaching 326 million homes.  Last year, it saw double-digit percentage growth in sales and profits year on year (16.4% and 34.2% respectively).
This news follows the announcement made earlier this week that Deepak Shourie has been appointed Director, South Asia, BBC Worldwide Channels reporting to Mark Whitehead, GM and SVP Asia, BBC Worldwide Channels.
In addition to BBC Entertainment, CBeebies and BBC World News, BBC Worldwide also has a TV production business based in Mumbai.  Its productions include  three seasons of Dancing with the Stars, Baby Borrowers and Desai Girl.  BBC Worldwide also manages BBC.com in India, attracting some 1.2m visitors a month. In 2004 BBC Worldwide entered into a 50:50 magazine publishing joint venture with Times of India, Worldwide Media Ltd, one of the largest magazine publishing companies in India.  Lonely Planet has been distributing its English language editions in India since the early 1980s.  Its first guide to India was produced in 1981 and has been consistently ranked among the company’s top five guidebooks for over 25 years.
For more information, please contact:
Esther Brown
BBC Worldwide
+44 2084332506
+44 7967822719
Jeanne Leong
BBC Worldwide Channels Asia
+65 68495292
+65 83881832 (mobile)

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