BBC Worldwide has apologized for recent leaks of scripts and footage from the new series of Doctor Who. The commercial arm of the broadcaster said a damaging “mistake” resulted in the exposure of five scripts and the first six unfinished episodes from Series 8 on a publicly accessible FTP site. It thanked fans for their efforts at helping to contain the leaks and said it has put in place a plan using new technology and internal manpower to limit any illegal activity. “BBC Worldwide has taken this issue extremely seriously and disciplinary action has been implemented as a result of the incident,” it added, and offered “sincere apologies” to showrunner Steven Moffat, the cast and the production team. Doctor Who returns on August 23 with Peter Capaldi as the latest incarnation of the Time Lord.
Entertainment One has acquired Canadian factual programming producer Paperny Entertainment from partners David Paperny, Cal Shumiatcher and Audrey Mehler. With the acquisition, Canadian giant eOne says it intends to ramp up its activity in unscripted television production across North America. Vancouver-based Paperny also has operations in Toronto and New York. It has produced over 500 hours of programming since its inception in 1994. The company is expected to deliver a further 80 hours of original programming this year. Its recent and returning shows include Timber Kings (HGTV), Cold Water Cowboys (Discovery Channel Canada), Yukon Gold (History Canada), and Chow Masters (Travel Channel). Paperny, Shumiatcher and Mehler will all join eOne to complement the company’s Toronto-based factual division; LA-based U.S. alternative content teams; and eOne’s North American development and production teams. Since launching its U.S. Alternative division, eOne has developed and produced shows including Mary Mary and SW Reunited (WE tv), and The Sheards (BET). Recent eOne-produced series include Hell On Wheels on AMC; Discovery Channel’s first-ever scripted mini-series Klondike; Rookie Blue on ABC and Shaw Media; Haven on Syfy; DirecTV’s Rogue; Saving Hope on CTV; and Bitten on Space and Syfy.
Completing its Delivering Quality First program for BBC News, the BBC says it expects to cut 415 jobs which will be offset by an estimated 195 new roles being created through reinvestment. Consultation is beginning with staff and the joint unions over the proposals. The broadcaster says the cuts are designed to ensure the division can “deliver even more distinctive, original journalism”, restructure the newsroom to create a new 24/7 digital news operation, and complete the integration of network news with the World Service and local and regional newsrooms. The plan will shave £48M per year across the BBC News Group by 2016/17, the corporation said.
Discovery Networks International is rolling out new seasons of pop-science shows You Have Been Warned and What Happened Next? The second series of You Have Been Warned was seen by 123M viewers internationally over 52 weeks. The show counts down the world’s top 20 YouTube videos featuring homemade science stunts and experiments. What Happened Next?, produced by Twofour, explores eight different stories per episode and pauses each clip right before its pivotal finale to give viewers the chance to guess what will happen next. The audience is presented with a number of different possible scenarios before the ending of the clip is revealed and the science behind it explained. The new series will premiere beginning August 17. You Have Been Warned is produced by October Films and will return internationally from September 10. It will also air in the U.S. under the title Outrageous Acts Of Science in the first quarter of 2015.
Sony Pictures Television and Colombia’s RCN Television are co-producing a 70-episode hourlong series based on the life of Colombian film and TV star Lady Tabares. Lady, La Vendedora De Rosas will follow the rise and fall of the actress who became famous for her starring role in the movie The Rose Seller. But at age 20, she was convicted for the murder of a taxi driver. Production has begun in and around Medellín and Bogotá. Colombia’s RCN Television will air the series with SPT handling international sales, World Screen reported.
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