MUMBAI: Channel 4 has awarded IMG Sports Media the four-year production contract for the corporation?s exclusive horse racing coverage.

The deal includes all the sport?s premium events from January 2013 ? Cheltenham Festival, Aintree?s three-day John Smith?s Grand National meeting, the Investec Derby Festival from Epsom Downs, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and the entire Flat Season QIPCO British Champions Series.

The agreement, in operation from January 2013 till December 2016, runs alongside Channel 4?s four-year media agreement with Racecourse Media Group. In addition, Channel 4 Racing sponsors, Dubai, have signed a new four-year extension deal until 2016.

Channel 4 has also announced that acclaimed sports broadcaster Clare Balding will join as the lead presenter of Channel 4 Racing from 1 January. Her expertise and warmth will bring a new audience to the programmes, working alongside a combination of familiar and new talent to be announced later in the year.

Carl Hicks, BBC Sport Senior Programme Editor, will join IMG Sports Media to head up the team as Executive Producer, having recently edited the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The digital propositions for Channel 4?s horse racing coverage formed an important part of the tender process and Channel 4 and IMG Sports Media will relaunch channel4.com/racing and build new presences on other digital platforms.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has decided to carry out a major restructuring exercise that will come into effect from 1 October.

BBC Worldwide?s existing structure based around five global divisions, will now be reconfigured to geographic lines of management. Profit and loss ownership and primary commercial ccountability will move closer to its customers, across seven geographic regions: North America; UK;

Australia/New Zealand; Western Europe; Asia; Latin America; CEEMEA (Central and Eastern Europe; Middle East and Africa).

The aim: to further increase focus on international markets, enabling it to capture future growth opportunities around the world. At the same time, BBC Worldwide is creating new global roles to establish direction and consistency around content, editorial, brands, sales and digital.

As a fallout of the restructuring, Worldwide Networks and the Global BBC iPlayer president Jana Bennett has decided to leave BBC Worldwide later in the year.

Bennett said,?My time at BBC Worldwide has been exciting and stimulating. I am delighted to have grown the BBC?s international channel portfolio at a time when global markets are so highly
competitive and to have brought quality British programmes and events to new audiences around the world both through our worldwide networks and the Global BBC iPlayer pilot.

?This announcement about the new organisation of BBC Worldwide, with regions in future holding P&L responsibility, is an important step in securing the future growth of BBC Worldwide enabling it to compete more effectively in the global market and deliver increasing returns to the BBC. I was pleased to have played a significant role in the organisational design process and fully support the changes under John Smith?s leadership. However with the move of P&L responsibility under the new structure I feel this is a good moment for me to work outside BBC Worldwide.?

The increased focus on geographic markets will be balanced by global functions with a remit across all BBC Worldwide geographies and a close connection into BBC Worldwide?s parent, the BBC. These will be managed by three newly created areas of accountability across sales, brands and content globally:

• Chief Sales Officer will be responsible for global B2B customer relationships and fulfilment, including advertising sales, as well as ensuring best practice across the company in sales and deals, and management of global sales events such as BBC Worldwide Showcase.
• Chief Brands Officer will be responsible for the commercialisation of BBC Worldwide?s flagship channel and programme brands, and will have oversight of the company?s global marketing activity, as well as business development of new brands.
• BBC Worldwide is also creating a third area of accountability for Content. This area will drive the creative and commercial vision for BBC Worldwide?s content strategy and will cover BBC Worldwide?s content and IP acquisition activity, channels curation and editorial standards. Scoping the dimensions of this accountability will form part of the next stage of work on the organisational design.
   

In addition, a Consumer Digital group will hold responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s consumer digital businesses, including all features on BBC.com, other commercial websites, the Global BBC iPlayer, as well as the company?s global digital strategy for apps, games and VOD, under a Chief Digital Officer. All four positions outlined above will report to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith.

The seven regions will report into four Presidents, all of whom will report to John Smith and sit on the BBC Worldwide Executive Committee.

Asia, Latin America and CEEMEA will form one grouping, under a High Growth Markets Group, enabling a single overview of investment opportunities across many of the world?s most rapidly growing markets, where BBC Worldwide intends to establish a major presence. UK and Australia/New Zealand, both English language markets, will also report into a single President, representing continuity for Australia/New Zealand.

Western Europe, where TV Sales and Distribution today forms the largest single part of BBC Worldwide?s business, will report to the Chief Sales Officer. US and Canada will continue to report into the President, BBC Worldwide North America.

The new structure has been agreed following several months of work, involving all of BBC Worldwide?s Executive Committee, many of BBC Worldwide?s Leadership Group and has been approved by the BBC Worldwide Board.

BBC Worldwide builds on the success it has achieved in recent years in the USA and Australasia, where increased market focus and autonomy have resulted in strong results, with headline sales growth of 21 and 29 per cent respectively since 2009/10.

BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, ?The new organisation is designed to help us capture untapped opportunities for high quality British content and BBC branded services across the world, in order to sustain our track record of strong growth into the future. It has been worked out over a number of months, with inputs from across the world, and throughout our company. I believe it will accelerate delivery of our global ambition, and help us drive future growth and returns to the BBC, supplementing the licence fee.?

Since becoming President of Worldwide Networks, Bennett has overseen the channels business, which is the biggest revenue generator for BBC Worldwide and will report further strong growth for the year just ended. She has overseen the introduction of 13 channel services, from New Zealand to Thailand, as well as the launch of channels into new markets for the first time, including Brazil and Taiwan. She has pioneered global programming events across BBC Worldwide?s own channels, with broadcasts such as the Royal Wedding, Sport Relief, as well as the London Calling season (timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth?s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics), playing out across four continents simultaneously.

Bennett has been responsible for BBC Worldwide?s 33 owned and operated thematic channels across 100 countries in EMEA, Australasia, Asia and Latin America. Jana is also responsible for the Global BBC iPlayer which launched as a pilot in July 2011 and is now in 16 countries. She also has financial responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s 50 per cent interest in UKTV, the owner of 10 branded channels in the UK; and executive responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s business development strategy across all its business in Latin America.

Bennett will remain with BBC Worldwide for a few months in order to effect a full handover of her responsibilities and to complete a number of major commercial deals that BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith has asked her to oversee.

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.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has announced the appointment of Martyn Freeman as its general counsel, a new role with responsibility across all legal and business affairs, policy and regulatory matters, including the negotiation of transactions and joint ventures, rights and deals management, crisis management, compliance, risk management and talent accounting.

Freeman will report to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith and will be a member of BBC Worldwide?s Executive Board. He will take up his position on 21 November.

He has been in charge of BBC Worldwide?s Legal and Business Affairs since 2002, as group head and then director. In these roles, he worked on the creation of partnerships such as BBC Books and 2 entertain, the divestments of BBC Magazines and BBC Audiobooks, the re-structuring of joint ventures with Discovery, and has had overall responsibility for rights acquisition and management.

More recently he has also led on raising financing and negotiating deals for BBC Worldwide?s slate of natural history feature films.

Previous to this position, he has worked in a variety of roles across the BBC, including as Head of Business Affairs, Radio and Music, Factual and Learning and News.

Freeman said, ?I am delighted to become the first general counsel for BBC Worldwide. It gives me the chance to build on nearly a decade?s work at BBC Worldwide as well as taking on some fascinating new challenges as BBC Worldwide continues to develop as a truly global media company.?

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide will complete on 31 October its previously announced sale of BBC Magazines? assets to Exponent Private Equity.

In addition to the outright sale of six magazine titles, a number of long-term publishing licences and contracts to publish a further four, the assets to be acquired by Exponent include BBC Magazines? shareholdings in two joint ventures ? subscription fulfilment business Dovetail and distribution business Frontline ? as well as its stake in Origin Publishing.

Completion follows regulatory clearance from the Office of Fair Trading obtained earlier this week.

Completion of the sale of BBC Worldwide?s shareholding in Indian publishing joint venture, Worldwide Media, to fellow shareholder Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd took place last week.

The two transactions will together generate cash proceeds of ?121 million, which will be returned to the BBC.

BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, "Building on a heritage dating back to Radio Times? first edition in 1923, the titles remain synonymous with the highest quality journalism along with expertise in, and a passion for, their subject areas. We will retain a close link with the new owners following the transaction, which I believe offers the best prospects for the business in the future."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has licensed the Qipco British Champions Day 2011, which takes place on 15 October, to a raft of international broadcasters ahead of Sportel Monaco 2011, ensuring the event will be seen in 75 countries globally.

Confirmed broadcasters include Ten Sports, the Dubai Sports Channel, SuperSport, Sport 5 Israel and NHK Japan.

Qipco British Champions Day, to be held at Ascot, is the climactic race day of the newly-formed QIPCO British Champions Series and offers prize money of over ?3 million. British racing?s major stakeholders have come together to create this prestigious event as a bigger finale to the flat racing season, in a major restructuring of the racing calendar to broaden the sport?s appeal. 

BBC Worldwide head of sport Danny O?Toole said, "This is an exciting time for British flat racing, and with the racing calendar rejuvenated, the QIPCO British Champions Day promises to be a major television event for international broadcasters. We?re delighted that these sales have already guaranteed it a substantial global audience, and expect to see more deals closed soon at Sportel."

Ascot head of communications and international racing Nick Smith also welcomed the deals, saying, "Qipco British Champions Day has the potential to be ranked alongside the USA?s Breeders? Cup, UAE?s Dubai World Cup fixture and France?s Prix de L?Arc de Triomphe day as one of the most important events in international racing, and we?re excited to see broadcasters giving it the platform it deserves around the world."

This will be BBC Worldwide?s first visit to Sportel since bringing together two previously separate parts of its sports business ? Sports Sales and Distribution and Motion Gallery Sport ? to create a single, focused team. In addition to the QIPCO British Champions Day 2011 and 2012, BBC Worldwide?s Sportel slate will also include a wide range of world class live events, quality programming and sport archive.

Live events on offer range from Royal Ascot, The Investec Derby and John Smith?s Grand National to Barbarians vs. Australia 2011, the London Marathon and the Oxford & Cambridge University Boat Race. New programmes available include the critically-acclaimed film Fire in Babylon, as well as upcoming BBC One documentaries The Dark Side Of Sport ? Freddie On Depression and Nic Hamilton ? My Chance to Shine. Sport archives of BBC Worldwide include The Football League, BBC Sport, The FA, ECB, Six Nations and the Commonwealth Games.