Sony Pictures Announces Panel For FIFA World Cup Show, Sunil Chhetri, Bhaichung Bhutia, Louis Saha Among Others

Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) on Friday announced a star-studded panel for Football Extraaa, the pre, mid & post-match live studio show that will be telecast in English and Hindi during the FIFA World Cup, starting from June 14.

Indian football superstar Sunil Chhetri, who just completed 100 matches for the national team, will be part of both the English and Hindi panels.

He will be joined by another footballing great from India, Bhaichung Bhutia.

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Champions league winner, Luis Garcia, ex-Manchester United forward, Louis Saha and former England goalkeeper, David James will also feature in the show.

Apart from these names Ashley Westwood, Gurpreet Singh, Robin Singh and Novy Kapadia will come together and debate the nuances of the game to give fans in-depth analysis on the ‘greatest show on earth’.

In addition to Football Extraaa, SPN will also showcase detailed insights for its viewers with a morning dose of football through its breakfast show Kick-Off.

The show will satiate the hunger of football enthusiasts with in-depth analyses on the previous night’s game along with forecast for the forthcoming matches of the day.

Rajesh Kaul, President, Sports and Distribution Business, SPN, said: “The telecast of 2018 FIFA World Cup will be done in six languages. It is our endeavor to reach out to every football fan in the country as per our commitment to go beyond to serve best sporting action through our programming initiatives.

“We have congregated some of the best international football players with great experience to provide incisive insights to our viewers.”

Meanwhile, SPN also announced that its digital platform SonylIV will livestream the matches during the 32-nation tournament.

SonylIV has launched the #Screamloud campaign that cuts across football fans in the country who exhibit their undying passion through a light-hearted film.

Fans will have a sore throat which is going to be their constant companion through the football season as they cheer and scream.

Abhishek Joshi, Head Marketing, Subscription, and Content licensing of Digital Business at SPN, said: “FIFA is one of the biggest sporting events in the World and the excitement from fans is palpable. While conceptualizing this film, we realised that visual humour and story-telling aren’t being used much in advertising and hence we created a light-hearted film.

“The story is filmed from the perspective of football die-hards who lose their voices while cheering for their favourite country. This campaign will connect with fans across India and unify them for the love of the game. all types of football fans can enjoy the game on their personal devices anywhere on SonylIV.”