BBCW to market Glastonbury rights
Tuesday, February 23 2010, 10:53 GMT
By Andrew Laughlin,
BBC Worldwide has agreed a deal with the Glastonbury Festival to sell broadcast rights to the Somerset event around the world.
Now into its 40th year, Glastonbury has been carried on BBC television and radio for over a decade, but Worldwide will now sell coverage of the event to international broadcasters for the first time.
Stephen Davies, director of Worldwide audio and music, said that the deal marks a "real feather in our caps, especially as Glastonbury is in its 40th year".
Davies explained that the commercial body has a strong understanding of the music market and will tap into its global sales infrastructure to effectively market the rights.
Glastonbury Festival executive producer for television Ben Challis added: "We have worked with the BBC in the UK since 1997 and the BBC's award winning coverage of Glastonbury just gets better and better.
"A move to BBC Worldwide music seemed a logical step forward to cement this relationship."
The deal, which was announced at BBC Showcase in Brighton, Worldwide's annual event for selling programmes to global broadcasters, is part of greater efforts by the BBC to broaden the reach of its music programming.
Worldwide intends to sell successful formats such as Later With Jools Holland and compile material from its archives into marketable highlights packages. Aside from Glastonbury, the organisation also holds rights to Radio 1's Big Weekend and Top of The Pops.
