SONY SIX with John Abraham set to reinvent primetime football viewing in India for FIFA World Cup 2014

SONY SIX, on account of the 2014 FIFA World Cu announces the launch of a flagship prime time football wrap around show “Café Rio” and an invigorating live breakfast show “Football Extraaa” on all match days. It comes with the promise of encapsulating the most interesting and entertaining aspect of the tournament. True to the channel’s philosophy of staying inclusive the shows will captivate both the football purist and the fringe viewers. The shows will feature some of the most eminent names from national and international football as studio guests including Peter Crouch, Robbie Fowler, Peter Shilton, Mikaël Silvestre, Ellyse Perry, Sunil Chhetri along with Bollywood star and football enthusiast John Abraham interacting and analysing the game. Commenting on the announcement, MPrasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony SIX, said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most anticipated football tournament of the world and keeping with the scale of the tournament we are excited to present to our viewers the most renowned and eclectic line up of current and erstwhile football stars as studio guest. I believe John’s presence will render our show a generous dose of glamour and entertainment while the guests will bring in a lot of wisdom and insight, offering our audience an unmatched primetime football viewing experience. The hosts and experts on the shows are sure to keep the audience assimilated and glued to their television sets.” Coming on board as a studio guest John Abraham said, “I am really excited to be a part of “Café Rio” the prime time wrap around show on Sony SIX. It’s a great platform where you can see me interact and analyse matches with some of the greatest legends of football. I am sure with this convenient match timings and great line up shows, the viewers will be glued to Sony SIX to watch their favourite teams sweat it out.” In introducing the impressive line-up, we start with Peter Crouch, fondly known as “Crouchy” has represented his country in two World Cups and is a current Premier League player. He is accompanied by former professional footballer and manager Robbie Fowler who made a mark in English club football scoring 183 Premier League goals during his memorable spell at Liverpool, making him the sixth-highest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League. He was part of the England's squads for Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Another significant name in football to join the SIX panel of guest is English goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who currently holds a record for playing the most number of games for England football team. Shilton made his World Cup finals debut at the age of 32 and has played in 17 World Cup matches and shares the record 10 clean sheets in World Cup finals with French keeper Fabien Barthez. The wrap around show will also witness the presence of French defender, Mikaël Silvestre with an international footballing career spanning over 15 years Silvestre was part of the French squad that made the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Another sporting sensation joining this elite group is Ellyse Perry a sportswoman who made her debut for both Australian football and cricket teams at the age of 16 and continues to play both the sports. She is the youngest person, male or female, to represent Australia in cricket and the first Australian woman to have appeared in both cricket and association football World Cups. And completing this haloed group of experts will be Sunil Chhetri, the famous Indian striker who made a name for himself as the AIFF Player of the Year three times, in 2007, 2011 and 2013. He played an instrumental role in India’s win in the 2007, 2009 and 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship. The two shows come with their own unique flavours, with “Café Rio” a live primetime show at 8pm leading up to the match kick-off at 9.30pm is a blend of sports and entertainment, the show entails interesting facts about victorious teams, historical venues and stalwart players along with in-depth analysis and discussion about squads, player forms, group standings and strategies. The live breakfast show “Football Extraaa” is a daily morning round up show for viewers to relive the excitement and fun of the previous day matches. The breakfast show will be telecast between 8.00 am - 9.00 am and will review and provide in-depth analysis of the earlier matches. This show will also be interactive where audience can dial in and share their perspective or ask questions to our studio guests. The set has been designed to replicate the essence and the fervor of Brazil’s animated and lively carnival, simultaneously evoking the sheer magic of the game. The dynamic palate of colors integrated into the set resonate the Brazilian spirit and passion for football. As an endeavor to enable the audience to experience the magic of 2014 FIFA World Cup, the set reflects the football mania with portraits of eminent players and a background that recreates the ambience of a stadium. ?Both shows will be telecast across the Indian subcontinent where Sony SIX has exclusive rights to broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup.