MUMBAI: IBN 7 has tied-up with MTV to be the official news partner for the MTV Hero Honda Roadies 5. This is its first ever international edition that will involve contestants attempting daring tasks as they travel across India, Thailand and Malaysia.

IBN 7 will be there to follow the journey of these chosen few to provide its viewers regular updates and highlights of the latest developments on MTV Hero Honda Roadies 5.

In addition to two half-hour specials building up to the launch of the auditions and interviews with Rannvijay and Nikhil - the show`s hosts, IBN 7 will also provide regular highlights of all five-city auditions on its news wheel.

Speaking on the association,CNN-IBN & IBN 7 director marketing and online projects Dilip Venkatraman said, "The popularity of reality-shows today is undeniable. In tying up with MTV for the MTV Hero Honda Roadies 5, we are ensuring that our programming is in-tune with viewer preferences by providing them the most exclusive look-into their favourite reality series."

Once the series begins, weekly half-hour specials on IBN 7 will showcase the developments of the week, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with each voted-out contestant. The show will also feature exclusive interviews with and access to celebrity Roadies, accompanied by sneak peaks into upcoming episodes.

To supplement this, IBN 7 and CNN-IBN will present regular Roadies stories on their respective entertainment segments on the news wheel.

In the week leading up to the finale, IBN 7 will go into overdrive by conducting Vox Pop with people on who they expect to win and report on the MTV Hero Honda Roadies title from all across the country. Following the announcement of the winner, IBN 7 will be the first to conduct an exclusive interview with the MTV Hero Honda Roadies 5 winner and the runner-up.

"MTV & Hero Honda Roadies, now in its fifth year can truly claim to have a cult following. The appeal of the show has grown beyond young people and is striking a chord with all those who have a free spirit and a passion for adventure. Our partnership with IBN 7 reflects this growth and the objective is to attract a wider audience by adding on viewers of news.IBN 7 will create and have access to unique content which will grow the viewership of India`s longest running youth reality show," said MTV India VP marketing Aditya Swamy.