ESS Partners with Endemol for Interactive Quiz Show

NEW DELHI: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) is set to launch an interactive cricket-based quiz show, Stumped, produced by Endemol.

Stumped will air on STAR Cricket every day of the week. The live format will entail a high level of viewer interactivity, allowing the home audience the chance to play for prizes. Slated to launch June 1, the show will feature in-studio contestants as they go through rounds of quizzing. Between in-studio rounds, the host will announce puzzles and quiz games that viewers can participate in to win prizes. The at-home players will call a mobile number to participate in the games and contests. The host will also cover an update on what’s happening in the cricket world.

RC Venkateish, the managing director of ESPN Software India, said: “There is a huge interest for an interactive cricket-based quiz show which allows fans to test their knowledge of the game while at the same time giving them an opportunity to win interesting prizes. Stumped is an attempt to fulfil this need. This show is also an extension of the live programming lineup during ICC World Twenty20.”

Venkateish continued: "We have already aired the show between May 11 to 24 with Wasim Akram as the celebrity guest to gauge the initial feedback. The response has been overwhelming from cricket lovers across the nation and we expect that the participation levels will be higher during the ICC World Twenty20."

Deepak Dhar, the managing director for Endemol India, added: “India being one of the largest cricket loving nation, our venture into the sports entertainment arena with Stumped has been a planned one. At Endemol, our aim is to expand our expertise from being known as a non- fiction provider into various other genres. After a successful entry into fiction, the sports foray was a gradual yet determined progression. With the success of our sports entertainment production Stumped, we reinstate Endemol’s position as a leading, multi-format, multi-genre content creator.”