Round-up week 9 (15 February -3 March)

Opera

This week the BBC unveiled a pan-platform season of opera programming which will coincide with the V&A’s exhibition this autumn, Opera: Passion, Power And Politics, in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, 30 September 2017 - 25 February 2018.

A more diverse BBC

A statement and some facts about diversity at the BBC. 

Appointments

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content announced Rose Garnett as the new Director of BBC Films. 

Elsewhere, Neil Ferris has been appointed the new Chorus Director of the BBC Symphony Chorus.

Announcements and blogs

Corporate

This week a deal to cut BBC’s New Broadcasting House running costs by up to £34m a year was made: £10m a year will be saved immediately, rising gradually to an estimated £34m, by lowering the running costs of the BBC’s New Broadcasting House in London, Anne Bulford Deputy Director General announced in a speech to the Media & Telecoms 2017 & Beyond Conference.

Meanwhile, an update on the new BBC unitary board was published.

TV Licensing

A statement was released in response to a Daily Mail story about TV Licensing; Director-General Tony Hall also sent a letter to Andy Parker, Capita CEO regarding the collection of the television licence fee.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the TV Licence is set to rise from £145.50 to £147 in April 2017.

Drama

BBC One has announced further casting for Gunpowder, with Edward Holcroft, Shaun Dooley, and Tom Cullen among those joining Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss and Liv Tyler in the new three-part television drama.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Lisa Faulkner is set to join EastEnders.

Entertainment

The media pack for Let's Sing And Dance For Comic Reliefwas published. 

Factual

BBC Two announced that Louis Theroux is set to return to BBC Two later this year with three diverse new films exploring American cities that are facing uniquely devastating challenges - murder, sex trafficking and opiate dependency.

The network also announced this week that Nadiya Hussain and Zoe Ball will front a brand new series The Big Family Cooking Showdown. Renowned chefs Giorgio Locatelli and Rosemary Shrager will judge and crown the nation’s best family of cooks.

News

From Monday 6 March to 12 March the BBC will broadcast a special week of stories titled SoICanBreathe which looks at some of the different ways the world is seeking to reduce air pollution. Stories will run across BBC News in the UK, local TV and radio, World Service radio, World News, online and social media.

Digital

BBC documentary strand Storyville is to launch an online serialisation, Killing For Love - Storyville. For the first time, six 30-minute episodes containing additional exclusive content will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer, with a single film version screened on BBC Four.

Meanwhile, memories are being evoked in dementia patients with the help of BBC RemArc. Since its launch in 2016, 73 per cent of survey respondents from the 17,000 people who used BBC RemArc said that the service triggered long term memories in them.

Music

BBC Music has revealed the five night long line-up of showcases at South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Regional

The BBC has already put Hull on the weather map and now reveals how it will showcase the UK City of Culture 2017 over the coming months.

Meanwhile, 20 of the world’s most promising classical singers will compete in this year’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. The names of the successful singers - who were chosen from almost 400 applicants - were announced this week.

International

From Monday 6 March, the Revolution-100 season of content on BBC Russian will connect audiences with the events of 1917 that led to the seizure of power by Bolsheviks and the birth of the Soviet Russia.

Blogs

Writer and director Gurinder Chadha, OBE (Bhaji On The Beach, Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice) talked about how her upbringing influenced her approach to Viceroy's House (co produced by BBC Films) which was released in cinemas on Friday.

Meanwhile, Wednesday evening saw the presentation of this year’s Royal Television Society Journalism Awards, we compiled a round-up of BBC successes at the ceremony.

Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Succession Tunde Ogungbesan wrote about our progress representing diversity on and off-air.

Elsewhere, to celebrate BBC 6 Music’s 1994 Day on Thursday, presenter Katie Puckrik reminisced about how she found her way to England and working for the BBC in her blog Lost And Found: My 1994 Story.

Broadcast Highlights

• Let It Shine: Live Final, Saturday 25 February, BBC One
• Meet The Lords, Monday 27 February, BBC Two
• My Life: Mum’s Last Wish, Monday 27 February, CBBC
• The Replacement, Tuesday 28 February, BBC One
• Imagine…Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, Tuesday 28 February, BBC One
• Stacey Dooley Investigates: Young Sex For Sale In Japan, Tuesday 28 February, BBC Three