The Trai ad cap fall out..

The Trai ad cap fall out

Insearchindia.com Team

(31 May 2013 9:15 pm)

MUMBAI: The Indian broadcasting industry is in a tizzy following the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)'s binding decision to implement a 12 minute per hour ad cap effective from October 1.  The ad cap will understandably have an adverse effect on broadcasters' inventories which help them generate an estimated Rs 14,000 crore in advertising revenues. And this could also impact their survival, because most of them are dependent on sale of their respective advertising inventories at a good price. All in all, it could well turn turn out to be a very expensive regulation. Colors Raj Nayak - Hike was inevitable... General entertainment channels like Colors and Star have already announced that they will be raising ad rates by 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. This move does not really come as a surprise for many, as Colors CEO Raj Nayak explains: "We would have anyway done our annual hike by about 10-15 per cent so as to be able to absorb the increase in costs of programming, production etc. We have not still seen the full impact of digitisation in the form of either a fair share of reduction in carriage fees or an increase in subscription revenue, and with the inventory cap becoming a reality, we are left with no option but to increase our advertising rates to be able to stay on course." The hike in ad rates on Colors will be effective from July 1 but one wonders will it work in a marketplace where negotiation is a norm and prices are anyway discounted by up to 30 per cent? To this Nayak asserts: "We are here for the long term and we value our relationships with our clients. We will work closely with them to arrive at a win win situation. Having said that I believe, clients who are paying least will have the biggest impact." The channel has done all its calculations based on its revenue objectives, annual rate increases and has arrived at the 30 per cent hike figure, which Nayak says is what the channel needs on an average to stay on course. Star India CEO Uday Shankar preferred to keep his cards close to his chest. He said, "I cannot talk about our strategy." However, the ad rate hike may also drive advertisers towards lower priced outlets and other lesser crowded genres. Vikas Khanchandani - Consumption of inventories on under-leveraged channels will improve. AIDEM director Vikas Khanchandani says: "Both GEC and Niche play different roles for different advertisers and the weight-age applied are depending on the need of the brand. The hike in advertising rates is to bridge the gap from reduction in available inventory to broadcasters on account of the decision by TRAI on the cap. Each broadcaster or channel will increase their rates basis their current P&L and the impact of reduction in airtime over what they are currently selling over the cap and/ or any other escalation in input costs. The consumption of inventories on under-leveraged channels will rise." In that case, will GECs bother about inventories being spread over to niche channels and other outlets? "That's not such a bad thing. The truth is there is already an overflow of inventory on GEC channels even without the cap, and with the cap the supply demand ratio will change dramatically," says Nayak. The ad cap is thus affecting one and all, so wouldn't the niche channels want to go the GEC way and hike their ad rates as well? Do we see the rate hike spreading across the ecosystem- news, niche, etc or to other mediums? Nayak replies in the affirmative saying: "We believe this problem of supply-demand will also spill over to the Niche, Music, Sports & News & movie channels too. So I will not be surprised if they too will be forced to re-look at their advertising rates. I would like to believe that with the pipe getting choked, these channels too will not be left with an option but to increase their ad rates, unless they have a magic wand or a secret formula." A magic wand or not, all broadcasters general entertainment or niche would do all that they can to lessen the adverse impact of the impending ad cap. Offering a media buyer's perspective ZenithOptimedia partner Navin Khemka said that the smaller channels that sometimes run as much as 25 minutes of ads in an hour will find it difficult to sustain themselves. "They will take a big hit if they are not able to increase the effective rate. The ones who run 12-15 minutes should be fine. The key is to be a top three player in a genre. Then you should be alright and manage a hike. At the moment it is hard to say what kind of a rate hike channels can manage. You also have to consider the fact that sometimes annual deals are done. Channels will either try their best to honour them which they should or do some restructuring." In terms of ratings he thinks that the issue of variance in numbers will resolved in a couple of months time. "It is actually in the channels interest that the fluctuation continues as then they can say that they are not responsible for the poor delivery." A+E Networks| TV18 VP, head marketing Sangeetha Aiyer offers a different take saying that for the factual and lifestyle genres increasing rates might not be feasible. "The current economic environment is difficult. The ad market is not great. With the slowdown most genres apart from the Hindi GECs are facing a revenue crunch. Also packaging in digital cable has not happened. Tam also has to get its house in order. FMCGs account for 40 per cent of the factual genres revenue. So ratings do play a role especially since factual channels have language feeds." So what is the way forward? She notes that doing more local properties is one way as for that channels could charge a premium. "The aim should be to conceptualise ideas that can work as a tentpole which is what we did for 'The Greatest Indian'. Of course for that you have to earmark monies for production, marketing. I would have preferred it if the ad cap had come once digitisation was complete. We normally air 15 seconds of ads." MSM Rohit Gupta - It's a demand-supply equation. MultiScreenMedia (MSM) president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta declined to talk about his channel's strategy. He however added that it is likely that most genres will go in for a rate hike. "If you don't then you will lose money. It is a demand supply equation. Market forces will take over. You could see a situation where clients look at more genres and channels given the shortage of available inventory on channels that they frequently use." Times Television Trigunayat - Movies Now to hike rates by 50% Movies Now is looking at a 50 per cent rate hike in the coming six months. Times Television Network CEO English entertainment channels Ajay Trigunayat is in favour of the reduced inventory. "English movie channels air around 15 minutes of ads in an hour. What was happening was that channels in other genres were abusing inventory and airing as much as 20 minutes an hour. This compromised the effective rate in the English movie genre. Now the viewer experience will be better. Less ads will result in more stickiness for the genre which will also justify a rate hike. Overall I expect ad rates in the English movie genre to grow by 25 -30 per cent." Trigunayat concedes that the 50 per cent hike target is ambitious. "But we always set out ambitious targets for ourselves. In the short term there will be issues. I expect resistance from clients. But things will iron themselves out. A clearer picture of various channels' strategies will emerge by August. On our part we are not getting the rate that we feel we deserve. Generally for a new player clients wait to see the response that the channel is getting. The other challenge has been TAM ratings which have seen big fluctuations. Our rate has been flat for the past six months and fluctuations in the ratings have played a part in that. The ratings could take over a year to settle down. Clients therefore will have to look at other metrics like brand positioning, quality of the content etc. We also have to spend more time convincing clients". On the issue of rating fluctuations Gupta conceded that there is a trust issue. "At the same time clients do not only use ratings. There is qualitative analysis that goes into media buying. Clients do their research. Over the past five years Sony's inventory has stayed the same. Yet we manage revenue growth of 20-30 per cent as we hike rates." Asked if less inventory on more mainstream genres will benefit the English movie genre Trigunayat noted that English movie channels are already running at full capacity. "If you look at players whether it is us or Star Movies, HBO, Pix their inventory is full. They will all increase rates. Clients will benefit if they book spots now well in advance which is what happens in the US." Neo Sports Krishnan - Ad cap unfair on sports genre Neo Sports Broadcast COO Prasana Krishnan said that the ad cap is unfair on the sports genre as breaks happen according to the sports action going on rather than on the basis of the clock. "Sometimes you might not have much of an ad break in an hour. Sometimes you might have more if there is a live cricket telecast. I would have preferred it if the rule was an average of 12 minutes an hour in a day. Then things would have evened out". The news genre is not left unaffected by this development. An industry insider points out that the government should be more considerate towards news broadcasters. "You cannot reduce our ad inventories while you do nothing about the enormous burden of carriage fees that we have to bear." He further adds that unless the carriage fee is brought down substantially and subscription revenues are also looked at, the ad cap compulsion is unfair. There must be a considerable drop in carriage fees wherein a network of 2-3 channels has to pay approximately Rs 10 crore - Rs 12 crore while single channels pay not more than Rs 2 crore - Rs 3 crore, he said. Khanchandani adds: "Impact on news will be different from that of niche. News is most impacted by the decision and have to significantly increase their own rates on account of very high dependence on ad time. If the increase in GEC pricing is very steep the advertiser might optimise the plans in favour of some genres but as I mentioned it depends on the requirement of the brand." A CEO of a news channel while refusing to come on record admitted that "the news broadcasting industry will also look at hiking ad rates because even our inventories are being adversely affected." In such a complex scenario based on the government and business environment, the advertiser's target audience and consequent decision remains the bone of contention. After all, with the impending digitisation, there is a lot of ambiguity revolving around which channels are reaching the audience and which are not. Khanchandani gives some perspective: "The television platform continues to be an effective medium for advertisers at large and I strongly believe in the medium. The impact will be varied across genres and channels. It's a function of demand and supply and their respective state of inventory utilisation. Fundamentally prices will go up across channels and inventory utilisation across under leveraged channels will improve." GECs are confident of their loyal advertisers; as Nayak puts it: "The advertising market is buoyant, I see a reasonable growth this year over previous year and we believe as long as we deliver value people will continue to invest in our channel."

How Sony Entertainment is driving its online ambitions.

How Sony Entertainment is driving its online ambitions

Nitesh Kripalani is a man on a mission. His weapons: a MacBook Pro, a high tech smartphone and a 3G internet connection. His battleground: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the oceanic mobile app market. Kripalani spearheads the very dynamic 'digital team' of 10-15 young and passionate social networking experts at Sony Entertainment Television (SET). It is his responsibility to create a virtual and online connect for hundreds of millions of Sony Entertainment Network Television viewers - in India and worldwide. Kripalani is one of the masterminds of the digital revolution that has gripped India's Hindi general entertainment TV channels (GECs).

The future of television could very well be digital. What could not have even been imagined a decade ago is now an indispensable part of our television viewing experience. Social interactivity with viewers at home is now just a 'comment' away. 'Tweet' and express your views on the latest twist and plot of your favorite daily serial. Guess what? The future is here and how!

Catching up with the pulse of the audiences, Multi Screen Media's (MSM's) Hindi GECs Sony and SAB have carved out an online indent for themselves. The need for making their presence felt on the dynamic platform of new media urged Sony to gradually devise a social media integrated communication plan around three years ago.

Let's consider the statistics to gauge the digital reach of the two GECs of SET.

Sony and SAB both have an official Facebook profile and Twitter handle with a commendable fan base. While Sony's Facebook page boasts of around 0.17 million likes with 7,500 plus facebookers talking about it, SAB has 50,249 likes and 2,649 active followers. The quintessential TV viewing audience is increasingly engaging on Facebook. Then its official Facebook pages for its TV shows tot up large numbers. Its iconic Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar starring Bade Acche Lagte Hai Facebook page has 0.7 million likes with 21,000 active followers. The official page of its Kaun Banega Crorepati has 0.35 million likes with 6,700 active followers and the show's registrations have yet to start. Crime Patrol has knocked up 0.1 million likes with 3,800 active followers. The long running CID, which garners huge ratings for the channel, however has a comparatively low 33,000 likes with 1,110 active followers.

The thirst to know more about their favourite shows is quenched on these Facebook pages. Sony constantly updates these with pictures and teasers of upcoming episodes. The buzz is also kept alive by the Sony's TV show addicts who go to make up its fandom. When looking at a channel's Facebook presence, fan driven pages cannot be left in isolation. A lot of action takes place through these fan pages. Look for Bade Acche Lagte Hai, Sony's popular fiction show, in the Facebook search bar and chances are that you will be looking at 10 active Facebook pages with as the most popular sporting close to 0.25 million, with 40,000 fans being active.

Twitter, being an indispensable aspect of social media, cannot be left out. And it is here where the Sony Network has to buck up and it lags behind its rivals Star and Colors. Hindi GEC Sony has an active twitter handle with around 7,500 followers, while SAB follows with approximate 4,500 followers. @SonyTv is buzzing with tweets and re-tweets every couple of hours.

What more? The numerous fan-driven handles of their popular shows are busy re-tweeting and sharing every Sony update, making for a huge cacophony of views across the digital world.

Ironically, the Facebook and Twitter fan base is just the tip of the iceberg. What takes the cake is Sony's official YouTube channel which has one of the most massive subscriber's bases in India of nearly 1.6 million and a humongous video views count of over 660 million. SAB has its own share of digital audience with around 28 thousand subscribers and 190 million video views. Ever since Set India joined YouTube on 20 September 2006, it has uploaded 1,69,994 videos so far and counting. No wonder, Sony leads most other GECs in the rat race of YouTube subscribers.

In order to aggregate all its social media activities under one umbrella, SET India launched a vibrant and ‘lively' Sony Liv this January. Sony Liv is a branded website cum app which is slowly but surely gaining momentum which has generated nearly two million downloads on android and iOS platforms. The official Sony Liv Facebook page has over 0.12 million likes. In five months, the branded site has attracted around 12 thousand followers with 15 million videos watched so far. The fans are more than happy to catch up with not only the latest episodes of their favourite on-going shows, but also remain loyally connected with their beloved shows which have gone off air.

All in all, SET has done it all from having an official Facebook page to its twitter handle; from one of the largest YouTube channels to a newly launched Sony Liv. The numbers are heartening! On an average, each YouTube upload by Sony garners as many as 25 thousand video views! The episodes are uploaded within two hours of telecast and by the next day, the newly discovered online audience has watched it repeatedly.

Bade Acche Lagte Hai leads the race on Sony's YouTube channel. The adorable middle-aged married couple - Ram and Priya have a dedicated fan-following of around 35 thousand viewers who watch every episode within a couple of days. Next in the YouTube popularity index stands the veteran fiction-crime show CID, which continues to garner a massive count of more than 30 thousand video views for each episode.

We have finally entered the era where the quintessential TV viewing audience is engaging on the digital platforms. Who knows, in the not so distant future, our stereotyped Saas-bahu sagas will drive a lot more traction online than what the TRP's tell us now!

Sony began targeting the online space around three years ago. The first phase focused on handphones with the Indian Idol audition mobile registrations and special Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) apps. The second phase promoted the Sony YouTube channel and the third phase which continues today, involves the development and promotion of its own branded website-cum-app Sony Liv.

Sony Entertainment Network SVP – new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani says: "We have covered all social media platforms from mobile to our own branded site that is the newly launched Sony Liv. It is an integrated marketing communications approach. We look at the online space as the means to reach maximum audience. The main aim is - first, to interact with and engage with our audiences and get their valuable feedback; second, to spread the word and promote our shows through this mass medium; and finally third, it is to monetise the online traffic."

Kripalani estimates that the Indian digital market is Rs 1,000 crore - Rs 1,500 crore out of which approximately Rs 200 crore constitutes the mobile market; the rest is left to digital. Understandably, this digital revolution has opened up a whole new universe for revenue generation.

Sony derives its online revenue through its existing advertising associations. Last year, Sony's official YouTube channel earned significant online revenue from brands like Axis bank, MTS and Maruti that sponsored popular shows like KBC and Indian Idol.

As far as social media such as Facebook and Twitter go, Kripalani says, "Currently, our goal is not one of maximum monetisation. In fact, we believe the platform must be primarily used for reaching out to our viewers. Perhaps a year from now, we may look at subscription based content following a premium model where 80 per cent of the content is free while the rest is paid for."

Sony Liv has been attractively packaged with several elements including videos, photos, behind the scenes videos and archived content. Some of the older shows like Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Aahat, Heena and older episodes of Crime Patrol, Comedy Circus and CID receive considerable traction as well. This content that was otherwise rendered useless after the shows went off air is now being made to eke out revenues through digital media.

Comparatively, among on-air shows, fiction has an upper-hand over non -fiction shows. Kripalani reasons, "Fiction series dominate the most watched content online because of loyal viewers who watch episodes repeatedly. However special episodes of non-fiction shows like Indian Idol, Comedy Circus or a KBC attract thousands of views. Fiction series have a consistent following which is understandably missing in case of non-fiction."

Sony's revenue from its online initiatives runs into millions of dollars. Yet the network has not moved into producing web exclusive content like some of the other Hindi GECs. However, Kripalani does not dismiss a possibility of producing such content in the future. "As the market expands and becomes more receptive, we will look at generating content exclusively for the web. Let's say in the next year and a half, Sony Liv will be the one stop destination for exclusive web content. After all, the digital platform is very profitable and is growing rapidly," he concludes.

IPL's TV ratings on sticky wicket but advertisers unfazed.

IPL's TV ratings on sticky wicket but advertisers unfazed


The recent spot-fixing scandal and the beating the Indian Premier League (IPL) brand is taking because of it are not the only worries for the sporting extravaganza. Its all-India TV ratings (TVR), too, are falling, as the enthusiasm among television viewers during the first few matches seems to be fizzling out.

Team insearchindia

In the first six weeks (59 matches), the average all-India TVR slipped to 2.9 — down 14 per cent from that in the previous season. In the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM), it was down 15 per cent to 3.

Some channels yet to join IBF ad clampdown..

               

Some channels yet to join IBF ad clampdown

Insearchindia.com Team

(2 May 2013 6:46 pm)

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Is the Indian Broadcasting Foundation's (IBF) diktat ordering its members to take TV commercials off the air waves being adhered to the T? While TV commercials have done the vanishing act from a majority of channels and networks, some were still airing them, which include regional channels.

Multi Screen Media (MSM), Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Times Television Network, Big CBS, ETV and the Viacom18 group are among the big daddies of the TV biz which are strictly following the clampdown.

But networks such as Discovery and Turner International India still had TV commercials running between programming, even as recently as the evening of 2 May. As had other regional players in the south. These included: the Sun Group channels (Udaya and Gemini), Raj TV channels, Maa TV, Kasthuri TV V3 (Kannada), Makkal (Tamil), Janashree (Kannada), and KF (Kan Kusic).

Why have these channels not joined in the TV commercial ban as the IBF seeks to force the AAAI to change the advertising billings system from gross to net?

IBF secretary general Shailesh Shah told InSearchindia.com that hardly one in twenty channels have not fallen in line. He said that even these will comply in a day or two should the impasse continue. "Channels being uplinked from overseas have also assured compliance," he said. At the same time, he further stated, channels were free to carry ads of those agencies which agree to the net billing system.

"It is our endeavour to always uphold the best practices and compliance standards of the industry. As members of the IBF we will comply with the stand taken by the federation," explained Discovery South Asia senior VP and GM Rahul Johri. Since Discovery's offerings are being uplinked from outside the country, we have been given more time to stop carrying ads and we should stop by 6 pm tomorrow. "

RBNL CEO Tarun Katial confirmed that the Big CBS channels have toed the line. "We as an industry have to stand together," he added.

Meanwhile, Shah said that talks are on at various levels in Delhi and Mumbai with the agencies and office bearers of the AAAI to resolve the issue.

IPL 6 kicks off with a bang

InSearchindia.com Team (2 April 2013 8:42 pm)

MUMBAI: The wait is over as cricket’s biggest extravaganza is back with a bang and there are a lot of new things to look forward to. For those uninitiated, the cash-rich league has got a new title sponsor in Pepsi, a new franchise in Sunrisers Hyderabad and has found a new home in Sony Six which will simulcast the event along with sister channel Sony Max.

Multi Screen Media (MSM), IPL’s broadcast rights partner, is sitting pretty this year having roped in 11 broadcast sponsors unlike last year when the broadcaster had to go into the tournament with unsold inventories as it refused to bow down before the advertisers who were asking for rate reduction.

The broadcaster had this year played the volume game by rationalising ad rates by 10 per cent. The reduction in ad rate did the trick with old sponsors like Samsung and Godrej coming back on-board and new ones like Parle jumping on to the IPL bandwagon.

The co-presenting sponsors are Pepsi and Vodafone while the nine associate sponsors include Tata Photon, Samsung Mobile, Panasonic, Havells, Usha Appliances, Karbonn Tablets, Godrej, and Parle.

MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta told that 90 per cent of the inventory had been sold out, at the time of writing. The remaining inventory will be sold at later stage of the tournament at a premium.

“We have got 11 sponsors on-board this year and have sold 90 per cent of the inventory. We have seen a growth of 25-30 per cent. We have also expanded our advertiser base due to entry of new advertisers and the return of old advertisers due to rate reduction,” Gupta asserted.

Encouraged by the response, the broadcaster has increased spot buy rates to Rs 500,000 per 10 second spot, says Gupta. It has also hiked spot rates for semi-finals as well as the final match to Rs 1.5 million per 10 second spot compared to Rs 1-1.2 million last year.

Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain had earlier told that the broadcaster will earn Rs 8.5 billion in ad revenue up Rs 1.5 billion from Rs 7 billion last year.

The good news for the broadcaster is that average television rating for the IPL is expected to increase 2.6 per cent to 3.9 TVR for CS15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC, as per MEC. Mumbai Indians (4.5 TVR), Kolkata Knight Riders (4.2 TVR) and Chennai Super Kings (4.1 TVR) games are projected to have the highest ratings.

It’s been a mixed bag for Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) though. While it had managed to strike a huge title sponsorship deal with Pepsi valued Rs 3.96 billion over a period of five years it has been unable to retain associate on-ground sponsors with the sole exception of Vodafone.

With Citi, Hero MotoCorp, Volkswagen, Karbonn Mobiles and Fly Kingfisher refusing to renew deals for different reasons the BCCI had to scout for new sponsors that saw Yes Bank and Star Plus coming on-board.

IPL on the go

The consumption of IPL is not just happening on television. The digital medium is slowly gaining traction among discerning consumers and the direct beneficiary of this alternate viewing is Times Internet Limited (TIL), the new media arm of Times Group, which has the global digital rights of the IPL including radio, internet and mobile.

TIL recently renewed its partnership with YouTube for 2013 and 2014 that will enable it to stream all 76 matches of IPL season 6 on its over-the-top (OTT) platform Boxtv.com and its dedicated YouTube channel youtube.com/indiatimes.

As part of the deal, YouTube will also have exclusive live-streaming rights for desktop web viewing (with a five minute delay in India) and non-exclusive rights for mobile viewing through the 2013 and 2014 tournaments.

India’s leading mobile TV service nexGTv has also bagged the official mobile streaming rights of Pepsi IPL 2013.

“IPL has been a big driver for us, in steadily engaging and growing our young, sports savvy users over the last two years, “ says TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani. “We saw a 43 per cent growth in audience base just last year on IPL online. Our partnership with YouTube is strategic in building supplementary touch points with these audiences and we’re happy to renew our association with it.”

Then there is huge activity that BCCI has planned for Twitterati by coming up with initiatives which will allow Twitter users to have their tweets broadcast on television. That is surely going to set the Twitter universe abuzz with activity around IPL 6.

Opening ceremony

At the time of writing, there was a mad scramble for tickets to attend the opening ceremony at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkatta. Llive performances from a medley of international artists including music sensation Pitbull along with flying drummers, Chinese percussionists, awesome fireworks and some of the biggest Indian film stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone kept the audience swaying in their seats.

It set the tone for Season 6 of IPL, the subcontinent’s biggest entertainer, which is slated to see the who’s who of the corporate, cinema, political, cricket worlds pouring into watch the action on the field. And hundreds of millions of viewers in India and worldwide who will tune into their TV sets or online or on their handphones.

Sony starts the hunt for India’s first Indian Idol Junior

Sony starts the hunt for India’s first Indian Idol Junior

InSearchIndia.com Team

(23 March 2013 7:18 pm)

MUMBAI: Singing talent show Indian Idol will for the first time embark on a search for new young voices as Sony launches Indian Idol Junior. The platform will open its doors to young singers between the ages of 5-15 as Indian Idol Junior starts its mission to showcase the best young singing talent in the country. Sony has brought on board three members of the music industry - female playback singer and performer Shreya Ghoshal who was herself discovered in a talent hunt along with music director duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani. Indian Idol Junior will be hosted by actor and anchor Mandira Bedi and television actor Karan Wahi. Sony senior EVP and business head Sneha Rajani said, “Indian Idol has been an exceptionally popular show and a hugely successful format for Sony. The idea was to give the show a fresh perspective as well as discovering newer talent horizons. Tomorrow’s singing superstars is what Indian Idol Junior will endeavour to showcase and we are delighted to have Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani along with Shreya Ghoshal as judges on the show.” Indian Idol Junior is produced by the format owners Fremantle Media.

Max ropes in new faces for its cricket wraparound show

Max ropes in new faces for its cricket wraparound show

Insearchindia.com Team

(23 March 2013 7:54 pm)

MUMBAI: Sony Max and Sony Six, the official broadcasters of the Pepsi IPL, have roped in two fresh faces to host their flagship cricket wraparound show, extraaa innings T20.

This edition of extraaa innings T20 will be co-hosted by Karishma Kotak and Femina Miss India International 2012 Rochelle Maria Rao who will take the audience through facts, analysis and trivia associated with the IPL.

The 2012 edition of extraaa innings T20 was hosted by Samir Kochhar, Gaurav Kapur besides Shibani Dandekar and Archana Vijaya.

To take the entertainment quotient a notch higher, the extraaa innings T20 studio this year will be larger-than-life and the design will strive to recreate the theatrical atmosphere that one associates with a cricket stadium.

Viewers can also look forward to some snazzy moves of professional cheerleaders from the NFL New York Giants team. extraaa innings T20 will also feature entertainment acts and performances throughout the duration of the tournament.

Max Business Head Neeraj Vyas said, “extraaa innings T20 has always been a thrilling entity that brings in-depth cricket analysis to fans in the most entertaining way. This year we have roped in two vibrant and striking personalities Karishma and Rochelle to provide freshness to the show along with our seasoned anchors Gaurav Kapur and Samir Kochhar. They are not only accomplished presenters, but also passionate cricket buffs and will take us through the high octane action of the Pepsi IPL 2013.”

Max will present the in-depth analysis of the game from the extraaa innings T20 studio with an expert panel, which include cricket stalwarts like Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajay Jadega, Harsha Bhogle, Rameez Raja, Isa Guha and, for the very first time on extraa innings T20, Kapil Dev.