MUMBAI: Nimbus Sport, the media rights holder of Asia Cup, has signed international distribution deals with broadcasters in key cricket markets for the tournament.

Neo Cricket is televising the event in the Indian Sub Continent, US, Canada, UAE, Singapore, North Africa, Philippines and Hong Kong. Zee will air the event in the UK and Europe while Willow TV has done a deal for US and Canada.

Pan-African sportscaster Super Sport is airing the event in South Africa. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the event is being telecast on PTC and BTV respectively while Carlton has bagged the rights for Sri Lanka. Setanta Australia has got the rights for that market.

On the advertising front, Standard Chartered, Jaypee Cements, Daikin, Indian Oil and Bangladesh Tourism have signed up as the five Official Partners. This is in addition to Micromax which renewed its title sponsorship of the tournament.

MUMBAI: Media company Cineflix Productions has landed a commission to produce Air Aces, a new series that tells the stories of the most heroic airborne combat missions from history.

The six-episode one hour series has been commissioned by Discovery?s Military Channel and History Television in Canada. It will be broadcast on Channel 5 UK. The series is executive produced by Ian Russell and Nick Godwin for Cineflix.

Using original aircraft from wartime battles with stunt pilots, Air Aces will feature hyper realistic mid-air combat sequences in addition to revealing interviews with the last surviving veterans, rare archival footage, cutting edge CGI, and new cinematic techniques.

The show aims to take docu-drama to the next level, transporting viewers back in time by taking them inside the real aircrafts, and re-creating the daring feats of the pilots charged with fighting enemy forces in the sky. Using vintage planes such as Spitfires, Lancaster bombers and Phantom fighters, aerial stunt teams, and state-of-the-art camera technology, the series dramatises the exploits of the world?s greatest Air Aces.

MUMBAI: 9 Story Entertainment has announced its new and returning animation slate for the television trade event MipTV next month in Cannes France featuring Fugget About It, the company?s first foray in producing primetime animation.

?Fugget About It? is an animated sitcom about the misadventures of former New York mob boss Jimmy Falcone and his family, who are forced to enter a witness protection programme in small-town Canada. The Falcones are now the ?MacDougals? and it?s not easy going from glorified gangsters to neighbourhood nobodies. The series will on air on Teletoon At Night in Canada.

?Almost Naked Animals? is another series in the slate and is in its third season. The kid?s series features an ensemble cast of underwear-clad animals, set in a beachfront hotel named the Banana Cabana, home to mayhem, destruction and all around fun!

?Daniel Tiger?s Neighborhood? is an animated preschool series features Daniel, a shy but brave 4-year-old tiger, who lives in the beloved Neighbourhood of Make Believe.

?Camp Lakebottom? is an animated kids comedy about 12-year old mastermind and ultra-rich kid McGee, who gets sent to the most dangerous and exciting summer camp in the world, Camp Lakebottom. The cabins are possessed, the staff members are a real creep show and McGee and his misfit pals are having way too much fun!

?Arthur? sees the little aardvark and his gang of pals back for a digitally refreshed 16th season of 20 exciting episodes now produced by 9 Story Entertainment.

In ?Wild Kratts?, the Kratts brothers leap into animated action in the 2rd season of Wild Kratts, an adventure comedy from the creators of the hit shows Kratts Creatures and Zoboomafoo. Chris and Martin Kratt travel to a different corner of the world to meet amazing new animals.

MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor FremantleMedia has announced the acquisition of the format and licensing rights to ?Recipe to Riches?.

The show, created by Temple Street Productions, is a new reality competition series that sees home cooks battle for a
cash prize and the chance to have their original recipe chosen and sold nationwide in a supermarket chain.

The show kicks off with a cross-country search where a panel of food experts choose finalists in a new food category each week. These categories can include anything from sweet puddings and pies, to cakes, appetizers, main courses, or sweet and savoury snacks. The top three finalists in each category fight for their recipes to be chosen as the category winner and awarded the weekly cash prize. The winning products are then immediately made available in grocery stores nationwide, allowing viewers to taste the products before they cast their vote to decide the ultimate Recipe to Riches champion.

FremantleMedia will roll the format out to international audiences through its worldwide network of production companies, and FME will represent the worldwide licensing rights to the brand (outside of Canada), working closely with the creative production teams to integrate retailers and sponsors into the show, create and launch products with retail partners and develop brand extensions through social media and live events to drive audience participation.

FremantleMedia director, global entertainment development Rob Clark said, "Recipe to Riches is a ground-breaking programme. For the viewer, it?s the first truly interactive food show; in Idols, you can buy and enjoy the music, in Recipe to Riches, the viewer can eat the winning recipe. What could be more satisfying? Sight, sound, smell and taste, all in one TV show. We?re delighted to have acquired Recipe to Riches and we are very much looking forward to bringing local versions of the show to audiences around the world."

FremantleMedia Enterprises? Global CEO David Ellender said, "We are incredibly excited about Recipe to Riches, which is the perfect format to plug in to FME?s global expertise and infrastructure, with huge commercial potential, particularly across sponsorship, consumer products, interactive and live events."