Champion to Star in 'Sea Rescue'

Sam Champion, Good Morning America's weather anchor, will host new weekly half-hour Sea Rescue, to air in Litton Entertainment's three-hour weekend block, Litton's Weekend Adventure, that airs on ABC affiliates.

"I grew up watching family-friendly shows like The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and Wild Kingdom. These shows entertained us with beautiful images of nature, yet taught us that we are the guardians of delicate wildlife. It's a dream come true to share stories of the dedicated men and women who devote their lives to rescuing animals in danger," said Champion in a statement.

Sea Rescue, which premieres April 7, is a partnership between Litton and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. It will follow the weekend edition of ABC's Good Morning America in most markets.

"SeaWorld has rescued 20,000 animals over the last 40 years, and we are thrilled to bring viewers inside our most extraordinary and heartfelt stories of rescue, rehabilitation and release," said Jim Atchison, chief executive officer and president of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, also in a statement. "Our wildlife rescue teams are on call 24/7 and every day is a new adventure, whether airlifting a manatee by helicopter out of the Everglades, replicating mother's milk for an orphaned gray whale, or creating a back brace for a stranded pilot whale with scoliosis."

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.