MUMBAI: Discovery?s lifestyle channel TLC will double the amount of local content this year to four shows as it seeks to fortify its position in India.

The channel has identified the grooming genre as a popular mix for the Indian audiences and is looking at growing it in a big way.

"As India is becoming an increasingly important market, we are introducing a healthy dose of Indian content. We are doubling the number of local shows on TLC. Local shows help improve the relatability of the channel," says Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri.

On 3 September, TLC will launch the local version of the international format ?What Not To Wear?. Hosted by Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan and Aki Narula, ?What Not To Wear - India? will run for 13 episodes at 10 pm every day.

The first local show launched this year was ?Be Blunt with Adhuna?, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.

Produced by BBC Worldwide, ?What Not To Wear? took a year to make. A scouting agency was appointed to find out the participants. The show will give a clothing makeover to women and the selected ones will get Rs 30,000 for the exercise.

"There will be a mix of Indian and western clothes showcased. Our aim is to show the diversity of the country," says Johri.

Khan is all praise for the ideas behind the show, after initially doubting if she was the best fit for it. "This is the first time I am doing this. It was an incentive and also terrifying as I had to expose my personality on the screen. But there was strong content behind me. There are women who struggle with style. It could be due to a physical or a psychological obstacle. They need ideas to help them overcome these obstacles," she says.

TLC?s earlier local shows for the Indian market include ?Oh! My Gold?, which explores some of the most distinct jewellery and ornamental styles of India. It is hosted by international actress Lisa Ray. "Each of them are a first of its kind in the lifestyle genre," avers Johri.

According to Johri, 60 per cent of Discovery?s revenue figures in India come from ad sales. With digitisation, he expects the revenue to be split equally between subscription and ad sales."Quality content will come out on top in a digital world. Viewers will choose depending on quality which is why we are investing more in local productions. We are prepared for digitisation".

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has licensed a raft of dramas to broadcasters in Central & Eastern Europe.

In total, over 530 hours have been licensed in deals to ETV, LTV, RTV, STV and TV Barrandov.

BBC Worldwide Sales and Distribution territory manager, Eastern and Central Europe and CIS Heike Renner commented, ?We?re continuing to build strong relationships with our clients in Central and Eastern Europe, and we?re very pleased to work with them to bring so many high-end programmes to viewers across the region.?

‘Parade?s End‘ has been licensed to 17 territories in the region, with HBO, a co-producer on the series, set to give the drama its territory premiere on its pan-regional feed.

The epic drama has also been licensed as part of package deals to RTV in Slovenia, LTV in Latvia, ETV in Estonia and STV in Slovakia, as have Sinbad to TV Barrandov in the Czech Republic, STV, and Call the Midwife to LTV, STV.

Other dramas picked up range from ‘Scott And Bailey; series one and two to RTV, ‘Inside Men‘ to STV and TV Barrandov, and the second season of ‘Upstairs Downstairs‘ to LTV and ETV.

The deals also take in factual titles such as Earthflight (ETV), natural history show ‘Deadly 60‘ (series 1 to STV) and entertainment programmes including ‘Beyonc?: Live at Roseland‘ (ETV).

Renner said, ?The programmes licensed in these deals reflect the breadth of our catalogue, from top quality dramas to some exciting new female-skewing lifestyle and music titles.?

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has sold the first season of the British drama, ?Call The Midwife?, to PBS.

The series will premiere on 30 September, leading into Masterpiece Classic ?Upstairs Downstairs?. PBS aims at transforming Sunday nights into a destination for drama.

Written by Heidi Thomas and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and Jamie Payne, ?Call The Midwife? completed its first season in the UK on BBC One in February 2012. Attracting 10.7 million viewers for its peak episode, ?Call The Midwife? was the highest-rated BBC new drama launch on record.

A second season has been commissioned and will air in the UK in 2013. ?Call The Midwife? is a Neal Street production for BBC, produced by Hugh Warren.

PBS president, CEO Paula Kerger said, "Call The Midwife is a riveting new series that strengthens PBS as a destination for drama on Sunday nights. We look forward to working with our BBC partners to introduce the story and the characters that were so beloved in Britain to the American audience."

Based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, ?Call The Midwife? is a moving and intimate story of midwifery in London?s East End in the 1950s. The first season follows a young Jenny Lee as she and her fellow midwives, attached to an order of nursing nuns, navigate the crowded East End streets teeming with children, workers and a culture remarkably different from the wealthy English countryside where Jenny was raised.

The drama unfolds as Jenny meets her patients, including one woman who is on her 25th pregnancy and a young, 15 year-old prostitute pregnant for the first time. Initially shocked by the health and living conditions of the East End, Jenny soon learns to admire the families she works with, along with the sisters and fellow midwives who witness the daily drama of life in this vibrant community.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Australia has completed a deal with Network Ten that will see the extraordinary new crime series, Ripper Street, premiere to Australian audiences later this year.

This is the first pre-sale deal for the eight part series, created by Richard Warlow, which will transport viewers into the murky world of one of London?s most notorious districts and scene of one of the world?s most captivating crimes.

Set in and around Whitechapel in London?s East End in 1889, during the aftermath of the Jack The Ripper murders, Ripper Street stars Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn , Adam Rothenberg, Myanna Buring and David Dawson. The action centers on the notorious H Division which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of East London.

Network Ten head of programming Beverley McGarvey said, "We were instantly intrigued by Ripper Street, it is clearly one of the most compelling crime stories of all time. The pedigree of both the production team and the cast is very exciting and we?re looking forward to it being a key feature in Ten?s upcoming programming slate".

BBC Worldwide Australia sales director Julie Dowding said, "The production pedigree coupled with the star power of Ripper Street ensures that Australian audiences will be treated to a crime drama with a difference ? one that will not only captivate lovers of the genre but a drama that will envelop the senses and take the audience there. Network Ten have an eye for quality crime drama and we are thrilled they have taken Ripper Street on".

MUMBAI: Under pressure to seek funding in a difficult global economic environment, producers are looking at the television trade event MipTV to be a meeting ground.

The event, which takes place next month in Cannes, France, has already seen a 25 per cent increase in registrations from production companies this year compared to 2011. More importantly, the 1,220 international television production companies registered to date include 326 first time attendees.

Reed Midem director of the television division Laurine Garaude said, "Producers increasingly need international financial partners and funding. They will find both again this year at the world?s largest TV market event, as production remains at the heart of MipTV 2012".

MipTV 2012 has a host of dedicated events and conferences created to benefit producers. The Drama CoProXchange and Producer?s Hub programmes are designed to facilitate co-production deals and support the producers? search of financial partners while in Cannes.

Kicking off the Drama CoProXchange programme on 1 April, MipTV?s first invitation-only Drama CoProXchange Summit will bring together 50 international commissioners, producers and deal-brokers involved in co-production at its highest levels for two hours of semi-structured networking behind closed doors, at the Majestic Hotel.

The list of personalities attending the Drama CoProXchange Summit include United Talent Agency co-founder and board director Peter Benedek, Entertainment One Television CEO John Morayniss, BSkyB head of drama Anne Mensah and France Televisions head of international drama and series co-productions Sophie Gigon.

Lookout Point MD Simon Vaughan said, "MipTV and Mipcom have been hugely important to the financing of Titanic. Julian Fellowes and I were here 18 months ago, with ITV Studios Global Entertainment, talking to potential partners and co-producers. And now it feels most fitting to celebrate Titanic?s launch with a Gala Screening here in Cannes."

Unfolding on 2 April, MipTV?s Drama CoProXchange programme includes a Creative Speaking session with British TV writer and producer Paul Abbott. Abbott will talk about his work to date, his creative process and his highly-anticipated new project, Hit and Miss, with Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Chloe Sevigny, brought to Cannes by FremantleMedia.

Amongst several Case Studies sessions, Oscar-winning producer Iain Canning, co-founder of See Saw Films ?The King?s Speech? will unveil his upcoming drama, ?Top Of The Lake?, co-produced by BBC Two, UKTV and Sundance Channel and internationally distributed by BBC Worldwide. The highly-anticipated new series is directed by Jane Campion ?The Piano? and the cast includes Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter and Peter Mullan.

The Drama CoProXchange programme also features a Commissioning Strategies session where leading broadcasters will reveal their commissioning plans for the upcoming year.

The all-new Producers? Hub is designed to facilitate producers? meetings in a casual atmosphere and a dedicated space. A series of ?How to? workshops will take place during the four days of MipTV, covering negotiating deals, pitching, commissioning, drama co-production funding, kids programming, digital business and distribution, factual and documentary production and regional funding opportunities.