BBC Worldwide has signed a deal with the Glastonbury festival to take the 40-year-old event to a global television audience as part of a push by the corporation's commercial arm to sell more music programming.
For more than a decade the BBC has aired the festival in the UK, but for the first time from this summer BBC Worldwide will have the worldwide television distribution rights.
This comes as BBC Worldwide begins a drive to sell shows such as Later with Jools Holland to international broadcasters.
BBC Worldwide is also repackaging its footage from its extensive music archive under new titles such as Best of Blondie and has even had some interest in reviving Top of the Pops in Italy.
John Mansfield, the BBC Worldwide Music head of content development, said: "In this momentous year, as Glastonbury celebrates its 40th anniversary, we are proud and privileged to bring the much celebrated BBC coverage to a global stage."
Glastonbury's executive producer for TV, Ben Challis, added: "We have worked with the BBC in the UK since 1997 and the award-winning coverage of Glastonbury just gets better and better."
The deal was announced at the BBC Showcase in Brighton, BBC Worldwide's exclusive annual event at which it sells programmes and formats to international broadcasters.
BBC Worldwide's managing director for sales and distribution, Steve MacAllister, said the organisation wants to make music programming "more of a focus this year".
"We have got such a great heritage of classical and contemporary music – if you think about the BBC's involvement in music over the years it's a real asset and we can also repackage it in a different way," MacAllister added.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/23/bbc-screen-glastonbury-overseas
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