MUMBAI: The Management and Standards Committee (MSC) of the News Corporation has changed its reporting structure consequent to which it will report directly to Gerson Zweifach, the company?s senior EVP and Group General Counsel.

The MSC was set up as an independent internal body in the wake of the phone hacking scandal and has been co-operating with the British police in the investigation.

Joel Klein, who was earlier overseeing the MSC, will transition back to a full-time role as EVP and CEO of News Corporation?s Education division.

In his MSC role, Zweifach will report to News Corporation?s independent directors through Viet Dinh, an independent director and chairman of News Corporation?s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Zweifach, News Corp?s top lawyer, has served as a member of the MSC since February.

"This shift will enable the company to consolidate its efforts with respect to ongoing UK and related investigations within its legal group, which Zweifach has led since joining News Corporation in February," News Corp said in a statement.

MUMBAI: Discovery Networks International (DNI) has announced that Betty, the UK production house that it acquired last year, will produce new lifestyle series ?Taste Off? and ?Ultimate Shopper?.

These series, commissioned by DNI head of production & development Julian Bellamy, will air on TLC internationally and available in over 150 markets across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

DNI chief content officer, executive VP Luis Silberwasser said, ?Fashion and food are two of TLC?s most popular genres, and the commissioning of ?Taste Off? and ?Ultimate Shopper? ? inspired by Real Time Italy?s hit series ?Shopping Night??taps into the essence of what our female flagship channels are all about. We are excited for these series to be infused with betty?s creativity and unique perspective, and feel fortunate to have a solid built-in production partner for our world-class programming.?

Betty CEO Liz Warner said, "We are thrilled to have won these series so early on in our relationship with Discovery?our development slate is very much in tune with TLC and Julian?s commissioning compass. These series are totally in our blood?being a sassy and competitive take on fashion, and a food show with a great twist taking on the local experts. Both will feature great presenting talent we have found, which is one of our known strengths.?

Part-travelogue, part competitive culinary show, ?Taste Off? follows self-taught British chef, restaurateur and author Aaron Craze, as he takes on homegrown food heroes around the world to prove he can cook up beloved national dishes as tasty and authentic as the locals.

In each episode, Craze?known to international audiences for his popular show Rude Boy Food and for winning Jamie?s Chef?learns the local culinary dish before competing against the locally crowned master, from head chefs at a 5-star restaurant, to family foodies to roadside cooks.

Each episode culminates with a blind taste test where the discerning local audience will make the final call?can an outside chef outdo the experts on their own soil? In the series? final episode, Craze will visit Australia where all dishes will be cooked and judged against each other to become king.

Confirmed locales for ?Taste Off? include Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia and Australia, with other locations to be announced at a later date.

?Ultimate Shopper? is being positioned as being every girl?s fantasy ? unleashing slaves-to-fashion in their ultimate dream store. With DNI and Magnolia Productions? ?Shopping Night? as a muse, ?Ultimate Shopper? aims to give new meaning to the phrase ?dressed to kill.?

Each episode pits four fashionist as head-to-head in a series of three style-based challenges to be judged by our fabulous panel of experts: singer and modern pop culture icon Holly Valance, fashion expert Brix Smith Start and photographer Paul Hartnett, along with a special guest judge.

From crafting the perfect look for a first date to donning just the right duds for a second job interview, contestants?and their style?will be judged on their chic creativity and quick-thinking fashion sense. At the end of each episode, the final two contestants will face off ?and the last shopper standing will be rewarded with a dream wardrobe of all their chosen pieces.

MUMBAI: ?Appropriate Adult?, an ITV miniseries about a serial killer Fred West, won three acting awards at the Bafta TV awards in the UK.

Dominic West, Emily Watson and Monica Dolan won for their roles in the show. West beat out stiff competition that included the star of ?Sherlock? Benedict Cumberbatch.

Andrew Scott won the award for supporting actor in ?Sherlock? as the Elad character?s nemesis Moriarty. ITV2?s show ?Celebrity Juice? won the YouTube audience award.

The award for best drama show went to BBC?s ?The Fades?. The award for comedy programme went to BBC?s ?Stewart Lee?s Comedy Vehicle? while its sitcom ?Mrs Brown?s Boys? won in that category. Its factual series ?Our War ? also triumphed.

Danish thriller ?Borgen? won for best international TV show. Rolf Harris got the Fellowship Award.

MUMBAI: The BBC has retained free-to-air highlights of the Premier League in the United Kingdom until the end of the 2015/16 season.

With a bid of ?179.7m the BBC has retained their highlights package, including the traditional Saturday evening Match of the Day programme, the Sunday morning repeat, MotD2 on Sunday evenings and other evenings when Premier League fixtures justify a show.

Match of the Day and MotD2 will also be available on the BBC?s iPlayer from midnight on Mondays.

Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore said: "The free-to-air highlights are extremely important to the broadcast reach of the Premier League; allowing the competition and our clubs to be seen by the maximum possible number of fans across the country.The BBC has done a fantastic job for fans of Premier League clubs by providing quality coverage and analysis across their programmes. We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with them."

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker added: "It is wonderful news that we have MotD for another three years. It is a flagship programme and it shows how much the BBC values sport and the importance of football."

The new contract will see MOTD celebrate its 50th birthday.

BBC Director of Sport Barbara Slater said: "With such an amazing season and thrilling finale, Premier League football has never been more exciting and dramatic. We?re absolutely delighted that the TV highlights will continue to be available to licence fee payers. We?ve seen audiences for MOTD grow in recent years and the programme remains one of the BBC?s best loved and most iconic brands."

MUMBAI: Twelevision format creator and distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has further expanded its drama development portfolio with the announcement of a new first-look deal with Hollywood film and TV producer Barry Josephson?s production company, Josephson Entertainment.

As part of the deal, Josephson Entertainment has hired a new VP for Television, Tia Maggini, who will work alongside FME senior VP of global content Jeff Tahler and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) senior VP of scripted programming Tony Optican to develop new drama projects for the US cable and global TV market. A number of projects are already underway, including thriller ?The Dover Agenda?, for which a pilot script is currently being developed for Syfy in the US.

Josephson is a film and television producer, who has established mainstream success through numerous motion pictures, television series and specials across a variety of genres. Josephson?s film credits include ?Enchanted?, ?Life As We Know It? and ?Hide and Seek?. He is also at the helm of the television drama ?Bones?, which is entering its eighth season on Fox. In addition Josephson currently has projects in development at TNT and AMC.

Fremantleedia Enterprises Global CEO David Ellender said, ?US cable drama is now the most consistently compelling content anywhere on television. Having identified the opportunities that exist on these networks, FME is partnering with the industry?s most prominent talent in order to help create high quality dramas that not only work for US audiences but which also have worldwide appeal. With several exciting projects already in the pipeline, our deal with Josephson is off to a flying start.?

Josephson said, ?I am very excited to work with Tony Optican, Jeff Tahler and their entire team at FremantleMedia. They have been very aggressive about securing rights for new material and strengthening our network relationships.?

Maggini joins from Disney Channel Original Movies where she was responsible for acquiring new projects for the channel, working directly with writers to develop original ideas. Prior to this she held the role of Senior Executive at Marc Platt Productions for five years.

Since the launch of the company?s global drama initiative three years? ago, FME has signed first look deals with producers. These have resulted in a number of series commissions from broadcasters across the world, with recent examples including ?Wedding Band?, produced by FMNA for TBS in the US, and ?Hit And Miss? for Sky Atlantic in the UK, created by Paul Abbott?s production and development company AbbottVision.