MAM
Media planners unconvinced that ‘Extraa Innings’ packs in female viewers
MUMBAI: Just how much has Extraaa Innings expanded the “non-purist” cricket audience base? That Charu Sharma, his “angels” and crew, were expected to beat the “few good men” of ESPN Star Sports was always a no-brainer. Especially on the back of the live World Cup telecast.
But the jury is still out among media specialists as to just how far MAX attempt to “get in the housewives” has been a success.
The ratings for 9-15 February 2003 show that MAX Extraaa Innings has attained some element of success. MAX officials claim that they have hit the requisite target audience. Among the segments, the two-hour pre-match Extraaa Innings attracted a high female viewership, delivering an average rating of 1.1, while the half-hour lunch segment delivered a higher rating of 1.2, an official release says.
Optimum Media Solutions Amit Ray says: “Given a choice, the females would still prefer the soaps in the afternoons and even during the live matches. After the matches, the females will definitely watch the primetime serials.”
Everest Integrated Communication client servicing manager Vinay Kanchan says: “I don’t think that putting a woman in a programme makes it appealing to women. Women themselves might find these characters who appear quite irritating. The manner in which commentary is done in the current day and time, the game is made quite simple for even a common man (or woman) to understand. The experts are very good (legends like Gavasker, Boycott, Barry Richards ) and you like (and this holds true for women as well I guess) to listen to them uninterrupted. The females add a new dimension and some unnecessary comment quipped in between such as – ‘Oh his square drive is sooo cute’!”
Mindshare Fulcrum MD Vikram Sakhuja says: “Our analysis on Extraaa innings shows that the ratings the program is picking up, especially after the match are not too special. These are the ratings that the channel would have got anyway. Also, while competitive channels have shown big drops during live cricket, they have not been hurt during the Extraaa Innings.”
“Since media is talking about how Extraaa Innings has been fashioned for entertainment audiences (and not just the sports purists). So basically, the jury is out if Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma are successful in adding appeal. I will stick to Ganguly and company,” Sakhuja adds.
WPP Media research shows that the Extraaa Innings ratings in the “Soaps” TG (Sec ABC, 15+ females, C&S in all India): is as follows:
SAF vs WI – 2.1
SL vs NZL – 0.6
ZIM vs NAM – 0.4
AUS vs PAK – 1.4
BAN vs CAN – 0.4
SAF vs KEN – 0.3
IND vs HOL – 1.6
WI vs NZL – 0.4
SL vs BAN- 0.4
KEN vs CAN- 0.3
IND vs AUS – 1.9
Madison Media COO (West) Punitha Arumugam says: “No! Extraaa Innings has not drawn female viewers as can be seen from the figures below. The ratings are as per the expectations we had earlier.Advertisers will definitely prefer live cricket matches to wrap around programmes as the involvement will be far higher with the programme and hence with the ads during the live telecast rather than the wrap around programmes.”
Madison Media’s research shows
– Extraa Innings : For every 100 male viewers there were 68 female viewers on an average.
– SET MAX regular programmes : For every 100 male viewers there were 105 female viewers on an average.
– SONY regular programmes : For every 100 male viewers there were 135 female viewers on an average.
Sony executive V-P and MAX business head Rajat Jain however maintains: “In fact, Extraaa Inningscan be credited with igniting the cricket passion among female viewers. Even before India played its first match, Extraaa Innings attracted 16.2 million female viewers, which swelled to an unprecedented 17.1 million females by the end of week 1 of the action of the ICC Cricket World Cup on MAX.”
Extraaa Innings delivered an average of 1.1 among females in C & S HHs (cable & satellite Households), with India matches notching 1.5 and non-India matches delivering 0.9 TVRs. “These ratings are specially significant when compared to past cricket wrap-around programmes in competing channels which never delivered more than 0.03 among this TG,” said Jain.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
