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MUMBAI
: In an attempt to increase its viewership in the country,
Animal Planet will launch a parallel 24-hour Hindi feed from
April this year.
"We
will start a dual Hindi feed. Animal Planet will be able to
reach a lot more homes and we can increase our advertising
revenues," said Discovery Networks India managing director
Deepak Shourie.
Animal
Planet is already available in English but there is growing
pressure on networks to offer their service in Hindi as well
so that they can widen their penetration in mass markets.
Discovery and National Geographic already offer a Hindi service
to viewers.
The
channel also has plans to show some India-centric shows in
the months to come. Some of them include Riding the Cobra
Express with Jeff Corwin, Tigers of the Sunderbans, Ghost
of the Ganges, When Bamboo Flowers, In Search of King Cobras
and Chasing Nature.
Will
Animal Planet produce locally in India? "We have acquired
a lot of programmes related to India, but we haven't produced
anything yet. We will probably produce India-centric shows
but only when the time is right," said Shourie.
Animal
Planet is beefing up its prime time content. The channel has
lined up four new shows which will be aired between 8 pm till
12 midnight daily.
Among
the new programmes, Safari, which will be aired Monday
to Saturday at 8 pm, is dedicated to the entire lifecycle
of plants and animals from the Savannah to the Himalayas.
Masters
of the Jungle will be aired Monday to Saturday at 9 pm
and is dedicated to animal life.
"With
programmes from wildlife enthusiasts like David Attenborough
and Steve Irwin, the show will reveal facts and dispel myths
about the wild," said Shourie.
Everyday
of the week at 10 pm, Animal Planet will showcase Animal
Planet Week. The show will be based on a new theme each
week.
Also
daily at 11 pm will be Wild Encounters. As the name
suggests, this show will deal with some of the most dangerous
and up-close encounters in nature.
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