MUMBAI: BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson has set sights on making BBC the hallmark of quality drama and the automatic home for the best talent in the world.

Speaking at an event for writers, actors, industry and press in the UK, Stephenson said that BBC and drama are inseparable. "It is written through the BBC like a stick of rock. No other broadcaster in the world has drama so firmly in its DNA.?

Setting out his vision for the genre and looking forward to new horizons, Stephenson?s aim is to build a BBC drama department that has an enormous international reputation. "That means making us more British than ever - it is about applying the Danny Boyle vision to our work - a bold, adventurous, authorial approach that exports because of its Britishness not despite it. A BBC that feels inspiringly creative - where there is a buzz and creativity and anything goes optimism.?

He signalled the dawning of a new era of ambition with the arrival of a new DG. ?Lord Hall and I have had early talks about the BBC as a cultural organisation with an international reputation, one to make us proud and that strengthens our creative muscles. I want to make BBC drama a cultural institution ? a touchstone for quality and modernity with all the excitement and glamour of a curtain going up."

Stephenson announced a range of new commissions. One of them is ?Atlantis?. The city of Atlantis is a mysterious, ancient place; a world of bull leaping, of snake haired goddesses and of palaces so vast it was said they were built by giants.

It?s into this realm that the young Jason arrives and an amazing adventure begins, bringing to life the vast store of Greek myths and legends re-imagined for a new generation in the 13-part series.

The shooting for this series will begin in Wales and Morocco in April.

?Death Comes To Pemberley? is another show lined up for launch. Adapted from P.D James? novel in this 200th anniversary year of the first publication of ?Pride & Prejudice?, P.D James? homage to Austen brings the world to life. Set six years after ?Pride & Prejudice? ends and centering on Austen?s best-known characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, the three-parter combines classic period drama with a highly suspenseful and brilliantly crafted murder mystery plot.

?The Interceptor? is an eight-part series about a top secret, state of the art law enforcement team whose unswerving mission is to hunt down some of Britain?s most dangerous and ruthless criminals. ?Jamaica Inn is a new adaptation of the classic Daphne du Maurier novel, set in 1820 against the foreboding backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, this highly charged, gothic romance follows young Mary Yellan as she becomes entangled in a dangerous criminal world ridden with smuggling and murder, testing her resolve and morality to the very core.

For BBC Four, there is ?Burton And Taylor? which is about volatile ex-lovers in the story of their ill-fated appearance in a 1983 revival of Noel Coward?s stage play, Private Lives. ?Burton and Taylor? is a drama about one of the most fascinating, glamorous and tempestuous relationships of the 20th century, that of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the two most famous movie stars of their day who played out every high and low of their love affair, their marriages and divorces right in the public eye.

Also as part of the BBC?s blockbuster celebrations to mark the Doctor turning 50, fans will be able to see ?Doctor Who? in 3D! To be broadcast using some of the BBC?s HD capacity, the show?s lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat said, ?It?s about time. Technology has finally caught up with Doctor Who and your television is now bigger on the inside. A whole new dimension of adventure for the Doctor to explore.

MUMBAI: BBC World Service is launching the first ever BBC Urdu TV programme, Sairbeen, which will be broadcast by Express News in Pakistan.

From Monday 11 February, the BBC?s new TV programme in Urdu language will air three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Express News.

?Sairbeen? draws on the strength of the BBC?s international newsgathering operation, which commands levels of trust, relevance and reach unmatched among international news providers. Sairbeen brings Express News viewers the best of the BBC?s journalism, analysis and interviews to get behind the stories on the global news agenda that resonate with Pakistani audiences.

The programme also features regular items covering Pakistan?s latest cultural developments, social-media trends, as well as travel, business and economy.

The new BBC TV programme builds on the longstanding success of the flagship daily BBC Urdu radio programme brand, Sairbeen, which is a household name in Pakistan. The launch of the new TV programme with the same name further strengthens the BBC?s offer to the region and commitment to audiences in Pakistan.

BBC Urdu editor Aamer Ahmed Khan said, "I am excited at what promises to be a very challenging time ahead - both in terms of living the story of this unique region, and doing it on one of the fastest-growing media platforms, television. I am aware of the high expectations our audiences have of BBC, and I am thrilled at the prospect of engaging a newer, younger audience that keenly awaits our TV offer."

Express News director of current affairs Mazhar Abbas said, "For years, millions of people in Pakistan have grown up listening to Sairbeen on BBC Urdu radio. We now look forward to seeing the next generation make the new BBC Urdu programme essential viewing on Express News. By carrying Sairbeen on our channel, we will be able to present something people are currently missing on television in Pakistan - the in-depth and independent analysis from the BBC on national and international issues with leading experts."

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC has announced new content initiatives with a focus on music broadcasting.

From big festivals to intimate studio sessions, the company aims to bring music alive for people whenever and wherever they want it. The digital drive this year will enable viewers and listeners to tune into major music events with a greater range and depth.

At Glastonbury, the fans will be able to choose from simultaneous live streams from all the major stages throughout the festival, allowing viewers to choose their favourite bands as if they were there.

BBC acting DG Tim Davie said, "Our ambition this year is to offer music fans unprecedented coverage of live music. On desktop, mobile, tablet and connected TVs, we will bring BBC audiences closer to the music they love by offering a full performance or fesival-goer experience for those who can?t be there."

The fans will also be offered comprehensive mobile coverage. According to the company, the shift to mobile coverage is being driven by audience demand.

Additionally, this year there will be developments on iPlayer Radio to give audiences a more in-depth, social and personal music experience.

Radio 1?s flagship event, The Big Weekend, will return in May, heading to Londonderry-Derry and will be extended to three days for 2013. It will kick off on 24 May.

BBC?s Musicians Masterclass is in its third year and will take place on 21 March this year. The event supports unsigned and undiscovered artists by offering learning, advice, access and insights from high profile musicians and industry professionals. This is the first time the Masterclass will be a nationwide event.
 
On television on BBC Two, Sir John Eliot Gardiner will present ?The Genius Of Bach?, a 90-minute music documentary revealing his life?s research into the great composer. The documentary will present a perspective on J.S. Bach, delving into his life and music with the help of performances from the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists.

Throughout the year, BBC Four will broadcast new documentaries on Verdi and Wagner as part of the BBC?s wider anniversary programming which features Radio 3, as the home of classical music, broadcasting for the first time every opera by Wagner, Verdi and Britten during their anniversary years.

BBC Four is planning a season of new programmes on world music with a documentary on its history and culture as its centrepiece. The season will also feature a programme on flamenco music.

BBC Two will be broadcasting a major music series later in the year, David Starkey?s Music And Monarchy, a four-part series exploring the ways in which the monarchy has shaped the history of British music. Starkey will demonstrate how British musicians helped to define and perpetuate a distinctive royal identity and will uncover how much of British history is preserved within some of the nation?s best-loved music

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Channels has unveiled Numtums Adventures as the latest new title in production for the international CBeebies network.

Created as a result of BBC Worldwide Channels? ongoing deal with CBeebies in-house productions in the UK, Numtums Adventures continues BBC Worldwide?s commitment to invest in programmes that will encourage children around the world to learn through play.

BBC Worldwide will hold the commercial rights for the series, including global channel broadcast, distribution and merchandising.

Aimed at four to six year olds, the adventure comedy evolved from a series of five-minute learning shorts that currently air on the preschool channel in the UK and around the world to help children with their numbers.

The new series targets upper pre-schoolers by introducing story driven episodes, fast paced comedy and visual humour, and distinct voices and personalities for the Numtum characters. Using CGI, each episode sees the number-obsessed heroes use their maths and number skills to resolve problems in their quirky hometown of Gumnut Gorge.

Numtums Adventures is produced by the CBeebies in-house team and animated by A Productions in Bristol. The series will debut on CBeebies in the UK and around the world in 2013/14.

Numtums Adventures is the latest in a slate of new investments for BBC Worldwide?s international CBeebies network.

CBeebies is a multi-platform brand for preschoolers aged six years and under, which encourages children to learn through play. In the UK, CBeebies offers a mix of new and landmark, high-quality, UK-produced content to educate and entertain the BBC?s youngest audiences in a consistently safe environment.

The international CBeebies channel is wholly-owned by BBC Worldwide and is available in the following territories: Pan Asia, Australia, Pan Latin America & the US Hispanic market, Poland, South Africa and the Nordic region.