BBC’s Frozen Planet leads to a surge in Antarctica enquiries

Chimu Adventures, the Latin America and Antarctica specialists, has reported a sharp increase in Antarctica enquiries due to the amazing Frozen Planet documentary series which have been shown on the BBC this year. The 7 part nature series, narrated by David Attenborough, focused on wildlife and scenery in both the Antarctic and the Arctic.

The BBC is to promote its Winter Olympics coverage with an animated clip featuring an Inuit hero on a mission, after the success of the monkey cartoon that backed the broadcast of the Beijing Olympics. The 40-second clip will break tonight on BBC1, as the corporation starts promoting its forthcoming coverage of the Winter Olympics, which begin in Vancouver on 12 February.

BBC Sport will be providing comprehensive coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games which will run from the 12 February to 28 February, including the Opening and Closing ceremonies. As Britain’s Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic broadcaster, coverage will be available on TV (including HD), radio, online, BBC red button, mobile and BBC iPlayer and the BBC is set to provide more coverage than ever before.

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics will represent the 14th Winter Olympic Games broadcast by the BBC, a sequence that has run unbroken since the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, California, USA. Viewers will be able to access live coverage, the latest news updates and any of those missed magical moments, regardless of the time of day and where they are, through the BBC’s extensive TV, radio, online, red button, mobile and BBC iPlayer services.

Ski Sunday returns for another winter season as Graham Bell and Ed Leigh host coverage of the Men’s Super Giant Slalom from the French resort of Val D’Isere. Last year’s overall World Cup champion Aksel Lund-Svindal of Norway will be battling it out for the title with American legend Bode Miller and Didier Cuche of Switzerland — already a winner on the tour this year. It will be a busy year for the world’s top racers as they gear up for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next February.

The Winter Olympics looks set to be dropped from free-to-air coverage following a recommendation to the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

While a number of high profile events, most notably the Ashes, have been recommended for addition to the current list of crown jewels’ — the sporting events protected for free-to-air broadcasting — the review panel made a clear distinction between the Summer and Winter Games.

The panel, led by former FA executive director David Davies, included the Summer Olympics on their recommended list, while the previous list did not make the distinction between the two events, and simply protected the Olympic Games’.

Ski Sunday returns on 13 December and as well as showcasing the best World Cup action the team will be gearing up for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

It will be presented by Graham Bell and Ed Leigh and will mix classic races with personal insights from Britain’s medal hopes as Vancouver looms. Skier Chemmy Alcott and snowboard-cross star Zoe Gillings will be featured along with the skeleton and bob teams.

Ski Sunday will be shown on BBC2 on Sunday afternoons and this website. And there will also be live World Cup skiing and race highlights online and on the red button.

The most enraging, divisive, temperature-raising show on TV is on BBC1 on Thursday nights. It’s not Question Time. It’s not a hapless comedy either. No, this is sandwiched between the two and is called The Skiing Weather. Each week, round about the time most of us are thinking gloomily about the following morning’s traffic jams, delayed trains and overcrowded buses full of commuters, a smiling young woman tells us to cheer up, as there’s excellent powdery stuff at Val d’Isere, but we should watch out for sticky offpiste conditions in Kitzbuhel.