Adgully Exclusive | We aim to keep up the 'Deewana' experience: MAX's Neeraj Vyas

Max is all set to step in to the world of non-fiction format, through its up-coming show 'Extraa Shots Challenge', a weekly quiz show, launching on 18th September, 2011 at 8.30 pm. Made with an aim to be the differentiator for Max, the show is packed in a compact form of 30 minutes of filmi gyaan, for 13 weeks. With Lux roped in as the title sponsor and Kohinoor basmati Rice as the presenting sponsor, Divya Dutta will host the show.

In an exclusive chat with Adgully, Neeraj Vyas, the channel's EVP and Business Head, spoke about the new show, and shared some insights on the channel and its audience.

Responding to the need that prompted Max to come up with a show like this, Neeraj said, "for us, the viewers experience is very critical. Extra Shots is like the DNA of Max. People identify Max with it. And thus, as an extension to Extra Shots, we have a non-preachy, unpretentious, filmi trivia show". Adding further, he said, "Extraa Shots Challenge, is our take on short formats, through innovative and engaging content and provide entertainment in a wholesome 30 minutes".

Speaking on the content front, Neeraj said, "since we cater to all strata's and sections of television viewers, we are careful and considerate about our content offerings. As the trend and need of the hour is buying and acquiring popular and high grossing films, we are also doing it. But we are being thoughtful and conservative on our choices. The main reason being that our larger section of audience is in the family domain, we need to chose films that do not make our viewers feel out of place or awkward". "Thus we are trying to strike a balance between 'edgy' offerings for our city audiences to 'smart' buys for my non-city audiences.

On the marketing and growth front, Neeraj higlighted that, "our large target sections lay out of cities, in the heart of towns like Raipur, Merut, Jabalpur etc.So our focus remains in these areas where the growth is coming from. So we are using the local and regional press to talk to people about Extraa Shots Challenge. We are also doing some very interesting and huge activation on radio, with Radio Mirchi as our partner". Reaching out to its large non-city based audience, Max is seen doing a lot of on-ground activation in malls etc where the game is played to communicate the correct feel n understanding of the show. "Apart from this, we also have an Extraa Shots Facebook page, where we try and acquire and build fans through interactions. This is done to translate the 'dewana' expeprience to our audiences", he added. "Our major growth areas would be Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujurat, alongside, tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This is only after understanding the fact that cities do not give growth beyond a certain point. So, we have our focus on these growing market", said Neeraj. On revenue projections for Max, Neeraj was of the opinion that, "in the next 6 months we have to see a growth of 15 - 20 %, while a similar hike in ad rates as well".

Lastly, sharing the channel's vision from here on, Neeraj said, "we want to grow our base as much as possible and strive to improve viewer experience, through smart scheduling, break strategies ect, aiming to keep up the 'dewana experience'. | By Ankita Tanna [ankita(at)adgully.com]