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MUMBAI:
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is planning
to make fresh investments into BBC Entertainment and CBeebies
as it part of its strategy to widen its footprint in India.
BBC
Worldwide aims to increase its focus on international markets
from where it is generating 55 per cent of its revenue. The
company is targeting two-thirds of its sales from oversees
business by 2012 and sees India “as a key market to help
reach this target.”
BBC
Worldwide will announce its investment programme at a reception
it is hosting for a UK Government-led trade delegation to
India, attended by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, chancellor
of the exchequer George Osborne, and secretary of state for
culture, the Olympics, media and sport Jeremy Hunt.
BBC
Worldwide Channels MD Darren Childs said, “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”.
Hunt
said, “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.”
Earlier
this week, BBC Worldwide appointed Deepak Shourie as BBC Worldwide
Channels director, South Asia.
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 Desi Girl. It also manages
BBC.com in India.
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