MUMBAI: Zee Sports has come out with a cricket show 22 Yards which has various segments.
22 Yards airs thrice a week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9 pm. An overall theme is selected for the week. Then there are three different shows based on that theme. The shows are a magazine show, a panel discussion / one to one interview and an archive show. The themes for the first two weeks are Sachin Tendulkar and The Glamour Boys of Cricket.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Zee Sports VP marketing Gaurav Seth says, "Today Indian fans who are passionate about the bat and ball game want to go beyond just watching live matches. They are becoming more interested in issues around the game.
"If you look at newspapers you will see pages on cricket even when the Indian team is not playing. Stories on Dalmiya, Ganguly, John Wright's new book capture the public's attention. Hence we felt that it was a good idea to come out with a variety show that will appeal to everybody from the connoisseur to the armchair enthusiast."
The magazine show is based around a short interview and various packages / vignettes that deal with the weeks happenings in the cricketing world. For example the Pinch Hitters segment looks at the players in the news. The Boardroom looks at the news from crickets governing bodies.
The second show every week is an in-depth look at the week’s theme. This could be in the form of a one to one interview or a panel discussion depending on the week’s theme. The channel started by doing an interview with the Indian cricket team's physiotherapist Andrew Leipus.
The channel has also done a panel discussion on glamour and advertising in cricket featuring Kapil Dev, Lathika Khaneja and Sharada Ugra.
The 22 Yards archive show is positioned as being quite literally a blast from the past. Here the channel dwells into the archives and feature a performance by a cricketer that best integrates with the theme for the week. For Sachin Tendulkar week the channel had showcased his first Test century.
For the upcoming Glamour Boys week the channel will be featuring one of Ian Botham’s match winning performances in Bothams Test. Another theme that the channel is looking at is the upcoming tri series involving India, Australia and the West Indies in September. India has not played Australia for two years. So the anticipation is high.
