MUMBAI: With cricket fever gripping the nation, radio has decided to jump onto the bandwagon as well. Big FM today announced two new shows based on cricket in the run up to the World Cup.
The FM has on board cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and actor Shekhar Suman hosting two news shows on cricket.
'Big Googly' hosted by Shekhar Suman is a funny take on everything to do with cricket- the sponsors, the locker room brawls, the hits and near misses. The show to be aired during drive time in the evenings will keep listeners entertained with all the gossip around cricket and World Cup.
Says Shekhar Suman, "Cricket has always been about entertainment and this show is about viewing the game in a lighter vein." For good measure he also adds, "Thank God for radio, or it would have been someone in noodle straps who would be doing the show."
Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle is not new to the medium. He started his career on AIR, Hyderabad before moving to television.
On what Big Cricket expert would feature Bhogle pointed out that, "The whole question of cricketainment being debated today is quite strange. Cricket has always been all about entertainment. Until such time as we can have ball by ball commentary on private FM, radio will do a great job of providing analysis and updates on the matches."
Big Cricket Expert hosted by Bhogle will include a pre match show on the days of the match. He will also present a 'Breakfast Show' with post match analysis the following day.
Big FM also plans to get in celebrities to give their take on the World Cup and its players.
Speaking on this celebrity mix for 'cricketainment', Big FM national programming head Manav Dhanda said, "Cricket is believed to be a purists game for a lot of people in our country and therefore we have the best in the business to talk about the serious side of cricket- the matches et al. Shekhar Suman clearly brings in the fun element with his own brand of humour."
Big Googly and Big Cricket Expert are both national properties and will be aired across all the 12 Big FM stations operating across the country. The FM has also planned a series of a contests and interactive features around the two shows.
