India first to see Discovery's biggest show

Claiming it to be one of the biggest programmes ever produced, Discovery Channel premiered its new 11-part series 'Planet Earth' in India. Beginning February 1, the series is being telecast in India even before it is aired by the channel in the US.

From the world's greatest rivers and gorges to the highest mountains, from the hidden underground world of caves to vast deserts, the show aims at exploring the unchartered territories of the planet.

Rajiv Bakshi, associate director (marketing and communications), Discovery Networks India, said,"Using a unit of over 40 cameramen the show has been filmed across 200 locations spanning 56 countries. The production of the show took over five years, probably the longest-ever for the channel."

According to Bakshi, Planet Earth will be the first natural history series to be filmed entirely in High Definition (HD) photography, other than aerial and satellite photography and Computer Generated Images (CGI). The show features several regions of Himalayas, North East and the Cauvery river.

"The reason we premiered it first in India is because we have a strong viewership here for our segments like nature, animal life, India," added Bakshi.

The channel's cumulative viewership is around 1.3 billion spanning 106 countries. The Indian viewership was, however, not available with Bakshi.

Meanwhile, Bakshi said that the channel would be coming up with a series on Mt.Everest too in April.

"The series on Mt.Everest, however, did not require that significant cost of production or research. Planet Earth is the only programme by Discovery Channel of that magnitude," clarified Bakshi.