| Max goes the Extraaa mile for Champions Trophy |
| Indiantelevision.com Team |
| (12 September 2006 9:00 pm) |
| MUMBAI: Cricket weds entertainment! With the Champions trophy in cricket kicking off in less than a month's time on 7 October 2006, Max is adding more muscle to its wrap around show Extraaa Innings. Max executive VP and business head Albert Almeida notes that Max turned cricket into an entertainment property. This way it was able to hook in women and kids as well. This time he says that the Extraaa Innings content has been beefed up. For starters, in addition to the hosts Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma, whom Max calls the first couple of cricket it has roped in television stars Rohit Roy and Shonali Nagrani as well. Roy will co-present various segments of Extraaa Innings. Nagrani will be the roving reporter. "Having said that Extraaa Innings will continue to be a judicious mix of serious cricketing action for the hardcore cricket buff and wholesome entertainment for the family," Almeida adds. A dual feed: Sony COO NP Singh says that this time around there will also be a Hindi feed on Sab. Three India matches, the semi finals and final will be aired on Sab. Maninder Singh, Atul Wassan and Saba Karim are among the commentators for this feed. The aim is to reach out better to places in the North like UP. Almeida says that Extraaa Innings haws been beefed keeping in mind factors like Indians increasingly becoming technologically savvy, they see cricketers as celebrities who do other things (like Sachin has his own restaurant).Here one will see fashion experts comment on the style quotient of the players. Of course features that were there before will return. The DTH Plan: Sony CEO Kunal Dasgupta says that Max is talking to both DTH platforms Tata Sky and Dish TV regarding putting in interactive features. One feature will allow viewers the option to choose one of four angles to watch the match. Max also plans to offer highlight packages. |