TIMES NOW presents Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma in 'Summer Slam – The Grand Finale'

Media News
Mumbai, May 30, 2008

Keeping in tune with the excitement and hype that surrounds the famed and very popular Indian Premier League, TIMES NOW, the leading 24 hour news channel exclusively brings to its viewers the golden couple, who added the glamour quotient to cricket commentary: Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma. They will provide their expertise before and after the matches in the show ‘Summer Slam – The Grand Finale’ to encapsulate all the action – on and off the cricket field.

TIMES NOW has taken the lead in the news coverage for the IPL matches in the hugely popular Summer Slam show and now with the final fervor setting in the channel will be peppered with round the clock updates and lots of opportunities for viewer interactivity. Speaking on the unique concept, Arnab Goswami, Editor in Chief, TIMES NOW said, “The ‘Summer Slam’ has outperformed all IPL related coverage across news channels. Our channel has always delivered news on sports that captures the essence of the game and connects with the audiences. ‘Summer Slam’ was designed keeping these core ideas in mind. The Grand Finale with Mandira and Charu will be a must watch for all the cricket fans.”

Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma are seasoned cricket commentators who are widely appreciated by viewers across the country. They promise to take IPL fever to a new level through panel discussions with cricket legends, contests and live interactivity with viewers. Commenting on the show, Charu Sharma said, “This is the first time Mandira and I are doing a show for a news channel and it is truly a novel and exciting concept. TIMES NOW has been very innovative in hosting a one hour cricket show which is packed with entertainment and gives viewers an opportunity to be completely tuned into the latest in the IPL arena.” Exhibiting her enthusiasm Mandira added, “I am completely bowled over by this game and appreciate TIMES NOW for letting Charu and me have a blast on the show.”

TIMES NOW has also introduced several exciting contests for viewers. In partnership with Cricinfo they have announced the ‘Most Valuable Player Contest’. To enter the contest, the only thing viewers have to do is guess the Most Valuable Player for every match of the ongoing Indian Premier League tournament and send it across to 58888. TIMES NOW introduced another contest for viewers to select their own IPL Dream team from among the four semi finalist teams. If their choice of players matches with Charu and Mandira’s team, they get a chance to win exciting prize.

So tune in to TIMES NOW to get an unmatched perspective and to catch the thrills and the spills of the IPL grand finale session with Mandira and Charu.

The programme schedule is as follows:

Summer Slam - The Grand Finale ( Pre Game Show)
30th / 31st May and 1st June at 1500 -1600 hrs
30th / 31st May and 1st June at 1900 -2000 hrs
Summer Slam- The Grand Finale ( Post Game Show)
30th / 31st May and 1st June at 2330-0000 hrs

For further information, please contact:
Genesis Burson-Marsteller
Shotorupa Ghosh
Mob: +09833626674
e-mail:Shotorupa.ghosh@bm.com