MUMBAI: US infotainment broadcaster National Geographic Channel (NGC) has announced that from 14 June actor Alec Baldwin will be the on-air host for the weekly ?Night of Exploration? programming block.

Each Friday, Baldwin will help the channel celebrate the spirit of exploration through world premieres or programmes that showcase the hotshots, the mavericks and the best in their fields who have devoted their lives to exploring the world around us, and the groundbreaking discoveries that are making a difference. Baldwin will appear as host for ?Night of Exploration? in the US and globally in 171 countries and 38 languages.

Baldwin?s on-camera hosting duties begin with ?Crossing the Ice?, which follows two Australian adventurers as they attempt to become the first to tackle the perilous journey from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, completely unassisted. No sled dogs and no wind kites, just two men dragging their food, their shelter and themselves across the barren ice.

On television for seven seasons, he starred on NBC?s ?30 Rock?.

"Alec has the perfect combination of energy and gravitas that we think our Night of Exploration viewers will love," said National Geographic Channel?s CEO David Lyle. "Each week, he will introduce the compelling stories of people around the globe whose drive to climb higher, dive lower or dig deeper never cease to amaze."

Launched in January to coincide with the National Geographic Society?s 125th anniversary yearlong celebration, each week ?Night of Exploration? introduces viewers to the trailblazers who are working on the unexplored frontiers of human imagination and innovation. From leading the ultimate cold-case investigation into the Titanic?s final moments with Oscar-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence James Cameron, to following a husband-and-wife filmmaking team over their 30-year quest to track lions and leopards through Africa?s harshest environments, these critically acclaimed programs have left audiences and critics asking for more.

MUMBAI: Under a new chief Jeff Zucker US news broadcaster CNN is trying to make itself more competitive. But it still has a few years to go before it can beat Fox News.

Speaking to a few reporters gathered around him at the Landmarc restaurant in Time Warner Center Zucker answering the question of when the broadcaster would beat Fox News and be the number one news channel he said, "Come back to me in three years. We have miles and miles to go. Fox is not only incredibly strong, they are incredibly dominant. It?s going to take a long time."

In terms of the plan for CNN he said, "What I want CNN to be is to be aggressive in news, coupled with programming like Anthony Bourdain."

"We need a number of programmes that you would not normally find on cable news networks but on places like Discovery, A&E, Nat Geo, we want to compete in that arena as well as the traditional cable news arena that CNN has traditionally been grouped into," he concluded.

NEW DELHI: The legendary Mission series is coming back on National Geographic Channel in a new avatar with the channel combining two of its greatest assets - Mission and Photography - in one show.

Titled Mission Covershot, the show will go on air on 25 March every Monday.

The show is a combination of competition, photography and the quintessential Mission intensity.

Giving a flavour of the upcoming show, Nat Geo showcased the best pictures clicked by the contestants in an exhibition here. Leading filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor was present along with the stylish host of Mission Covershot Shibani Dandekar, sharing their experiences from the show. The exhibition showcased the best work of the eight amateur photographers who are competing on the show for a coveted chance to contribute to the cover of Nat Geo Traveller Magazine.

Talking about Mission Covershot and the exhibition, Debarpita Banerjee who is Vice President, Marketing and communication, NGC Networks and Fox International Channels, said photography has become a popular passion with more people clicking and creating stunning imagery. On the other hand, Nat Geo had become synonymous with its stunning imagery with its photographers being looked upon with great wonder and envy.

She said: ?It was obvious for us to bring the two together - a platform for budding photographers honed by some of best in the Nat Geo family and the industry. And that?s what makes our next Mission- Mission Covershot so special. It has a grandiose of Nat Geo photography coupled with 8 hugely empathisable contestants trying to make the cut.?

Sharing his experience of being a part of Mission Covershot, Kukunoor said: ?Photography is considered a natural talent but we tend to overlook the efforts that the photographer puts in to come up with that perfect picture. Mission Covershot would be an eye opener for everyone as it was for me. It was heartening to see the immense talent that we have and no other platform could have been a better than National Geographic Channel to take up this initiative.?

Added Manas Mohan, Publishing Director of Nat Geo Traveller Magazine in India: ?This is probably the first time in the world that the channel and the magazine have got together to create fantastic programming and fantastic stories for the followers of National Geographic. I look forward to a massive response from our supporters?.

MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel has partnered with Scott Free Productions to produce a two-hour film based on "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," Bill O?Reilly?s latest book with co-author Martin Dugard.

The two-hour factual drama will stay true to the narrative storytelling devices used by O?Reilly in the book, which recounts the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and how a sequence of gunshots in Dallas not only killed the president, but also propelled the nation into the Vietnam War and a cultural change.

National Geographic Channel has also worked with the production house for its movie on O?Reilly?s Killing Lincoln which is set to go on floors next month.

O?Reilly said, "The common parallels between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are astonishing, with both assassinations profoundly changing the nation during crucial moments in its history. It made perfect sense that my follow-up to Lincoln would naturally lead to Kennedy. While Kennedy?s assassination continues to garner many conspiracy theories, our story is based on facts, some that haven?t been publicly known. And with National Geographic Channel and Scott Free once again at the helm, I have the utmost trust and faith that they will bring the story of Kennedy and Camelot to life."

National Geographic Channel President Howard T. Owens "With the tremendous success of SEAL Team Six, our first feature film, and the growing excitement over this February?s premiere of Killing Lincoln, producing Bill O?Reilly?s follow-up was a no-brainer and will be yet another story that will resonate with our audience. As Scott Free Productions continue to be perfect partners - taking risks and breaking new ground in storytelling - we are claiming a stake in producing factual dramas, delivering entertainment with substance."

According to the company, production on the two-hour television event will begin this spring, combining rare historical insights and archives with dramatic and emotionally engaging storytelling in the style of the Scott brothers.

The special will premiere globally on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 38 languages.

MUMBAI: The 1980s ushered in a new definition of innovation, drive and decadence that shook and shocked the world. To capture the spirit of this provocative decade, National Geographic Channels International has commissioned Twofour to produce ?The 80s Greatest?.

The four-part series will air in spring 2013 as part of a special global programming event dedicated to the decade that gave rise to the birth of now. Game-changing in the way it wove a common global narrative within a rapidly modernising world, the 1980s encapsulate some of the best, most iconic ? and sometimes grievous ? moments in history.

In four fascinating hours, ?The 80s Greatest? explores Sporting Icons, Gadgets, Football Moments and Tragedies ? from young athletes like Diego Maradona and Mike Tyson who skyrocketed to international superstardom to the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, which dominated international headlines.

NGCI executive VP, head of international content Hamish Mykura said, "Few decades hold the same wonder and nostalgia as the 1980s, and together with Twofour, National Geographic Channel is reacquainting viewers with riveting moments across sports, technology and current affairs. These aren?t memories locked away in time; they are the iconic figures, events and innovations that defined a generation, left nations cheering ? or the entire world holding its breath ? and still resonate today,"

Twofour head of factual entertainment and executive producer of the series Juliet Rice said, "We are delighted to be working with NGCI on The 80s Greatest. It is a chance to revel in an extraordinary decade that brought us everything from the first cell phone to the first ?Hand of God?. Expect glorious insight and nostalgia."