MUMBAI: Infotainment broadcaster Animal Planet is boosting its India content with a new show that will celebrate India wildlife throughout 2012.

The channel will air a 52-week special, ?India: Wild Encounters?, from 26 January?26 February every day at 8 pm and will continue later as a weekly slot every Thursday at 8 pm.

?India: Wild Encounters? provides a tour of the wildlife of India, capturing enthralling stories such as a rhino?s journey from infancy to adolescence, Ranthambhore?s big cats, tigers of Sunderbans and the elephants of North East India. The series also follows the endangered river dolphins of Ganges and King Cobra that lives in the remote forests of South India.

Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri said, ?We are delighted to bring this unique programming lineup for 52 weeks to television homes in India. India: Wild Encounters will premiere never-seen before wild life encounters and feature global personalities."

Meet the real wildlife explorers - Jeff Corwin, Austin Stevens and Dave Salmoni as they set out on their explorations to learn more about the wild animals of India. In one episode, an individual female Nepalese rhino, Bachada, develops from infancy through adolescence to maturity. The Chitwan Valley in Nepal -- home of the tiger, peacock, langurs and macaques, land of changing river courses and permanent lakes -- is the backdrop for the story of the biology and social behaviour of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, an ancient animal survived the Pleistocene Ice Age and was already venerated by humans as early as 2000 BC.

Said Johri, "This unprecedented content offering is in line with Animal Planet?s strategy to continue to be India?s foremost destination for wildlife television entertainment. We are confident that India: Wild Encounters will generate immense interest amongst the viewers and trade alike.?

MUMBAI: Asian sports marketing, media and event management company World Sport Group (WSG) has appointed Ten Sports to air the 2011 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship on Ten Action+.

All 15 matches of this seventh edition of the SAFF Championship which will be played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium New Delhi from 2 - 11 December will be telecast live on Ten Action+.

Eight countries from the region: India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan will participate in this tournament.

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, "We are delighted to broadcast the 2011 SAFF Championship. The championship will not only help in the development of football in the region but also in fostering goodwill among neighboring nations. The telecast of this prestigious tournament reaffirms our commitment to grow our football and sports broadcasting business, and consolidate our position as the leading sports broadcaster."

WSG senior VP, country head, India Harish Krishnamachar added, "World Sport Group has worked on seven editions of the Saff Championship and we are happy to be producing this event in India. Together, our capability and the football pedigree of Ten Sports will help us deliver a world class event".

Drawn in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan, five-time winners and defending champions India will kick-off their campaign in the Saff Championship with a match against Afghanistan on 3 December. Pakistan is in Group B along with runners-up Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, which will be held on 9 December, two days before the summit clash.