MUMBAI: Starting 19 May, BBC Entertainment will roll out its fresh summer programming for Indian audiences.

The new lineup will see a clear focus on the London Olympics, and, hence, has been named London Calling.

The channel has planned 100 hours of fresh programming, targeting 25+ SEC AB audiences in the eight metros.

According to BBC Worldwide Channels South Asia head, marketing Ishita Roy, the channel has got positive response for the live telecast of the Royal Wedding last year and the recent comedy series Come Fly With Me was also well appreciated.

?We got positive response for the telecast of the Royal Wedding and we now know that there is a viewership for comedies also. Mix this with 2012 London Olympics and the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee ceremony, all eyes will be on London. So we decided to focus programming on these,? Roy says.

London Calling will begin with documentaries on the reigning British monarch with The Diamond Queen, House of Windsor and The Queen?s Palaces. The Diamond Queen presents a definitive analysis of Queen Elizabeth II?s 60-year reign, examining her history, constitutional role and responsibilities, and features exclusive interviews with members of the Royal Family.

The channel will also telecast live from the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee celebrations beginning 3 June at 6.30 pm onwards with the Thames River Pageant, Concert from Buckingham Palace on 4 June at midnight, and Services of Thanksgiving and Royal Procession on 5 June, 1.45 pm onwards.

The event coverage will come directly from BBC One in the UK and streamed live to viewers in India via BBC Entertainment.

The London Calling season will also include the BAFTA winning Sherlock Series 2 on 2 July at 8 pm, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Luther, Whitechapel and Spooks are also a part of BBC Entertainment?s lineup of dramas this summer.

BBC Entertainment will also be premiering a new comedy series Twenty Twelve inspired by the Olympics, showing the lighter side of the Games. The comedy series follows the fictional Olympics Deliverance team as they prepare for the London 2012 games.

The channel will also launch a drama Going for Gold - the ?48 games which stars Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Bert Bushall.

Viewers will also be invited to take a trip behind the scenes of the world?s oldest, biggest and busiest underground train network in The Underground.

London Calling will air between May and August on BBC Entertainment.

Roy tells that L?Oreal has already come on board as the associate sponsor for the entire London Calling season.

The channel also has plans to market the season, with major focus on digital. It will launch a microsite and a game, powered by Google, for London Calling. The game will be launched across the BBC Worldwide network and across nine regions.

In the second phase, the channel will start promoting shows like Sherlock and Twenty Twelve.

MUMBAI: Gearing up for London Olympics, ESPN Star Sports has launched a new show School Quiz 2012 with HDFC Life as the title sponsor.

To be hosted by ESS? presenter & commentator Alan Wilkins, the on-air telecast of HDFC Life School Quiz 2012 begins on 1 June.

The televised broadcast of HDFC School Quiz 2012 precedes London Olympics 2012 which will also be showcased on ESS.

Based on the theme of Olympics, the school quiz will judge the sporting quotients of young minds across the country. The television rounds will see 72 teams with two members each vying for the ?India?s Top Sports School Quiz Team? title.

In order to make the television rounds of the quiz accessible to students across the country, ESS will hold a grand entrance exam for students studying in Class VI to Class X on 8 April in 23 cities across the country.

The quiz show will also have a special section where current and past Indian Olympians will pose teaser questions to participating students.

ESPN Software India EVP ad sales Sanjay Kailash said, ?We are delighted to announce the launch of HDFC Life School Quiz 2012. The quiz tests not just skills and knowledge but also provides healthy, popular entertainment to the vast nationwide audience. This is an initiative which is extremely close to our hearts. I am eager to see how children from this sports mad country fare in this special Olympics edition.?

Added HDFC Life EVP head marketing & direct channels Sanjay Tripathy, "It is our privilege to be associated with School Quiz 2012 which will reach out to children across the nation. The School Quiz will provide a platform for the participants to represent their school, and bring pride and glory to their institution thereby improving their knowledge and enhancing confidence level."

A total of 72 teams, 18 teams from each zone, will qualify for the TV rounds.

MUMBAI: The tension between sports ministry and Hockey India was resolved Monday following the former?s clearance of preparatory camp for the 2012 London Olympics to be held at Sports Authority of India centre in Bangalore starting Tuesday.

?The camp will begin in Bangalore tomorrow. We have also got approval on LTDP from the Sports Ministry,? Batra told reporters after a Steering Committee meeting of the Ministry.

The ministry, which also approved hockey?s Long Term Development Programme (LTDP) till Olympics, said that it was HI which had changed the dates of the camp in order to scuttle the World Series Hockey, an IHF initiative.

Batra refused to answer questions on the fate of players who are playing in the unsanctioned league.

?I don?t want to say anything on that. Let the camp begin tomorrow and see who are the players who report to the camp,? he said.

Batra also revealed that HI has got in-principal approval for the India-Pakistan series. ?In principle we have got the permission, but we are yet to get permission from the Home and External Affairs ministry,? he said.

MUMBAI: Irrespective of the International Olympic Committee?s stand on Dow Chemical, the company‘s sponsorship of 2012 London Olympics has came under attack from British parliamentarian Barry Gardiner.

The North Brent MP termed the appointment of Dow Chemical Company as a sponsor a ‘sham‘ and going as far to allege that the procurement process was ‘rigged‘ in favour of the company.

He further opined that the organiser?s failure to cancel the sponsorship would lead to a ‘cloud‘ over the forthcoming Olympics. He also called for a full and transparent investigation of the process under which Dow became a sponsor.

"The entire procurement process appears to be a sham. The application window was only 10 days long. That is only 10 days to apply for a purported ?7 million contract, something unheard of in the Government or business worlds.

"We have now heard opposition from the Indian Olympic Association, Olympians, the Indian Government and even Locogs own sustainability commissioner. The Government must now intervene in this mess and act to kick Dow out of the Olympics."

The IOC has earlier defended its association with Dow Chemicals? by contending that the company had no ownership stakes in Union Carbide, the company responsible for Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984, till 2000.

IOC also said that its relationship with Dow Chemicals is well over 30 years and ?were aware of the Bhopal tragedy when discussing the partnership with Dow?.

However, the Indian Olympic Association has been maintaining that the world body must value the ?sentiments? of the people of India by disassociating with the chemical major.

Recently, Meredith Alexander, a leading environmentalist, resigned from the Games‘ ethics committee protesting over Dow‘s involvement and accusing the organisers of behaving like ?apologists? for the company.

MUMBAI: Uefa has announced the appointment of the BBC and ITV as the official broadcasters of Uefa Euro 2012 in the UK.

All 31 matches will be transmitted live across BBC and ITV. The broadcasters will further exploit all 31 matches via their respective internet and mobile platforms.

A daily highlights programme will also be shown on each match day during the tournament and the BBC has the right to provide extensive coverage of the competition across its radio channels.

Uefa Events marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said, "Uefa is delighted to continue its relationship with the BBC and ITV, our traditional broadcast partners for the UEFA European Championships.

"We look forward to working with the UK?s leading free-to-air broadcasters and are convinced that they will provide fans in the UK with an exceptional depth of coverage of the tournament across all media platforms."

The BBC and ITV also confirmed the full split of matches between the two broadcasters across the tournament.

The broadcasters will show a total of 16 matches each including the final, which will be broadcast by both ITV and the BBC.

ITV controller of sport Niall Sloane said, "Major events such as the Euro 2012 Championships have huge significance for our viewers and attract some of the biggest audiences on television. I?m delighted that ITV has secured an outstanding selection of games through the tournament which includes England?s opening game against France as well as a potential peak time group decider against hosts Ukraine.

"ITV1 will also be the home of some terrific clashes between the top teams in Europe including Spain v Ireland, Spain v Italy, Portugal v Holland and Ireland v Croatia."

BBC Head of TV Sport Philip Bernie said, "The BBC is delighted to be showing the UEFA European Football Championship, a huge football event, which, along with the London Olympics, should ensure a fantastic sporting summer for BBC viewers.

"We are happy with the live matches on BBC One, as they give us a strong climax to the event, with both semi-finals, as well as England?s quarter-final if they progress. We also have some very appetising group games, including England?s second match, against Sweden, in peak time, Ireland?s final match, against Italy, and heavyweight clashes between Holland and Germany and Germany and Portugal."