Rentrak partners with Cinepolis India for box office analytics: business line

NEW DELHI, MARCH 23: 

Rentrak has launched its box office service to report daily theatre-level information for Cinepolis in India. This new agreement will help Rentrak to expand box office measurement services in India.

In a statement, Ron Giambra, President of Rentrak’s worldwide movie measurement business said, “India is one of the fastest-growing theatrical markets and our measurement is vital to helping serve their clients. We look forward to our partnership with Cinepolis and expanding as they continue to add more screens.”

Cinepolis India has recently acquired Fun Cinemas and now has 200 screens across 31 cities.

“India is a very exciting market with tremendous passion for cinema. When this passion can be measured accurately in real time and understood in terms of box-office analytics, it will pave way for greater growth in the industry and better movie products for the country as a whole," Javier Sotomayor, Managing Director, Cinepolis.

link to the webpage

Government working out modalities for setting Film Facilitation Unit: Rajyavardhan Rathore - economic times

NEW DELHI: With a view to facilitating film shooting by foreign film makers, the government is working out details for setting up a Film Facilitation Unit. 

"Government proposes to set up a Film Facilitation Unit towards facilitation of film shooting by foreign film makers in India,"

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. The minister said the proposal includes development of a web portal. Necessary details are being worked out towards the implementation of the proposal. 

Replying to another question, Rathore said a meeting of members of Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament attached to the ministry was held in February where measures towards projecting India as a destination for film shooting by foreign producers was discussed.

In reply to another question, Rathore said Doordarshan has telecast 17 films with patriotic theme on 'DD National Channel' during the last three years including the current year.

link to the webpage

Indian media and entertainment industry's size to double at Rs 2 lakh crore by 2019: KPMG - economic times

MUMBAI: Driven by digital players, the media and entertainment industry is on course to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 13.9 per cent by FY19 to Rs 1,96,400 crore from Rs 1,02,600 crore this fiscal, according to a KPMG report. The growth of the digital media will be the fastest, while at the same the traditional media will be growing at a healthy pace. 

The television sector will continue to grow, thanks to digitisation. The advertising market will be driven by the emergence of e­commerce players as a significant new category, the report said. 

"The media and entertainment sector is set to grow at a CAGR of 13.9 per cent by 2019 to touch Rs 1,96,400 crore from Rs 1,02,600 crore in 2014. This higher growth will be driven by the digital players," the report on the industry released at the Ficci­Frames here today said. 

The number of TV households rose to 168 million in 2014, implying a penetration of 61 per cent, making it the world's largest television market after China but remains highly unstructured, the report noted.

Television advertising bounced back significantly, and the sector is estimated to grow at Rs 47,500 crore in 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.6 per cent to reach Rs 97,500 crore by 2019. 

Subscription revenue growth at an annualised growth rate of 16 per cent is expected to outpace advertising revenue which is projected to have an annualized revenue growth of 14 per cent, on account of improving monetisation due to digitisation.

However, the report noted that though digitasation has touched more than 50 per cent households, implementation challenges remain in improving addressability and monetisation. As a result, there was no real impact from digitisation on sharing of subscription revenues among the different participants or carriage fees in 2014, the report noted

The growth in popularity of digital media exhibited the sharpest growth in 2014 with digital advertising growing at 44.5 per cent over 2013. However, digital ad spends are still a long way from global average, said the report. 

Overall advertising revenues in 2014 grew at a growth rate of 14.2 per cent over 2013 to Rs 41,400 crore of which print at 43 per cent and television at 37 per cent captured the lion's share," the report noted. 

It was also an important year for the radio industry as the government started proceedings on phase III auctions. The government has given a nod to the partial auctions for 135 channels in 69 cities, and the final auctions are anticipated in the latter half of 2015, the report s

link to the webpage

Graphic India raises $2.8 million seed round : economic times

BENGALURU: Character entertainment company Graphic India has raised a $2.8 million

seed financing round from CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, and

New York­based media investment group Start Media, along with other angel investors.

"This new financing will expand our content offering and allow us to create India's premier

mobile platform for comics and animation ­ engaging and building a passionate community

of superhero, sci­fi and mythology fans through Graphic's content and characters," said

Sharad Devarajan, CEO and co­founder of Graphic India, who had previously co­founded

Liquid Comics (formerly Virgin Comics) with Sir Richard Branson.

Graphic India, a two­year­old startup, produces digital comics and animations based on

Indian mythological characters. So far, it has paired up with acclaimed cartoonists and

filmmakers such as Stan Lee, Shekhar Kapur, and Grant Morrison to create homegrown

superheroes such as "Chakra the Invincible," which is currently under development as a

Bollywood movie.

It has also signed licensing deals and content partnerships with Cartoon Network, Rovio, and YouTube, and is currently developing three Hollywood films. The company had previously raised $2.5 million seed funding from CA Media.

Over the next few months, the Bengaluru­based company expects to unveil a number of digital products and apps in India to directly engage with comic and animation fans in the under­25 demographic. The free offerings will be available in six languages, including English, Hindi, and Tamil.

"The characters, heroes and stories from Graphic India tap into the unique ingenuity and culture of India, but appeal to audiences worldwide," commented Rajesh Kamat, COO Chernin Asia Media Group. 

"With smart phones increasingly becoming the preferred medium of entertainment for the youth and the ever increasing consumer reach of mobiles in India, the move towards expanding their offering and creating content for smart phones & tablets will give them with a significant boost and enthuse the next generation of comic buffs." 

link to the webpage

Bahubali part-I on May 15

HYDERABAD : 

The much awaited multilingual flick Bahubali is slated for release on May 15. Film buffs are eagerly waiting for the film, which is reportedly made with a budget of Rs. 150 crore, is being shot for over three years.

Claimed to be the costliest movie ever made in India, the film is simultaneously made in Telugu and Tamil, which will be dubbed into Malayalam, Hindi and a few other languages. The film stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka and Tamannah Bhatia.

S S Rajamouli, one of the most successful directors in the South, has announced the release date in a clip in his Twitter account that has over 10 lakh ‘followers’.

“We are releasing the part 1 of Bahubali on May 15. Entire team is very happy to share the news that the ‘talkie’ part of the production has just been completed but for one song,” he said in the clip.

The film generated huge expectations ever since the project was announced by Rajamouli, who never tasted a commercial failure so far. That a Twitter account opened exclusively on the film (@BahubaliMovie) has over 53,000 ‘followers’, shows the interest it generated among the film buffs.

The crew filed a police case last month after some feed from the film was put on Youtube. It held a former employee of a multimedia firm that has been assigned with post-production work.

link to the webpage

Pune ­based visual effects co Montura opens unit in kerala cyberpark : economic times

Kochi: The Pune­based leading visual effects company Montura VFX, which has associated

with Hollywood blockbusters like Harry Potter series, Spiderman, Transformers, Pirates of

Caribbean, The Smurfs, I Am Legend, Hancock, Percy Jackson, Watchmen, Valkyrie,

Invictus, Sex and the City and Walking with Dinosaurs, has opened its second production

unit in India at the Cyberpark, Kerala government's IT park in Kozhikode.

"We are really happy to set up a unit in Cyberpark that has all the features of a worldclass IT park. This is our second production unit in India and first in Kerala. We will be setting up a state­of­the­art unit to provide an international working culture for the qualified young crowd in Kerala," Montura VFX CEO Nirshid PP said in a statement.

He said that the company would scale up its operations at the park in the first year and

double the intake to provide more employment to talented youth in the state."There is a

growing demand for visual effects professionals across the globe, with the film industry

opting for more experimentation.

Kerala is a perfect destination for us considering the huge talent pool," he added. Cyberpark

officials are hopeful of bringing in more similar companies when its IT building becomes

operational next year.

According to Cyberpark CEO Ajith Kumar R, other multimedia and visual effects companies have also shown interest in setting up base by next year at the park which offers top quality workspace and world­class infrastructure."The entertainment industry is going to be a major employment generator in the coming years and we want to leverage the opportunitiesin this booming sector. The opening of the production unit of Montura is just a beginning and we will be able to bring in more firms to the

park by next year," he said.

link to the webpage

Carnival Cinemas plans Rs 500-cr investment in Madhya Pradesh: Business Standard

Angamaly, a Tier-III town in Kerala, is known for its alcohol consumption. The liquor outlet that is among the top contributors to the Rs 8,800-crore revenue of Kerala State Beverages Corporation. Besides, Angamaly has to its credit the setting up of the first multiplex theatre in Kerala.

Carnival Cinemas, the multiplex business born in this town, has now broken into the big league of cinema theatres in India, threatening the likes of PVR and INOX in the span of one year.

Carnival started with three screens in 2010 and is closing in on INOX as the second largest multiplex chain through serial acquisitions.

After its latest acquisition of Stargaze Entertainment from Network18 Media, the Shrikant Bhasi-owned Carnival now owns 330 screens, close to the 361 screens of INOX. Carnival has also 75 ready-to-operate screens that will be launched in a month.

Stargaze operates multiplexes in various cities under the brand name Glitz Cinemas.

The buyout gave Carnival a presence in cities like Ajmer, Raipur, Ranchi, BIlaspur, Dehradun, Jodhpur and Muzaffarnagar.

The PVR Group owns India's largest multiplex chain with 454 screens.

ALSO READ: Carnival Group in talks to buy L&T Realty's Elante Mall

"Stargaze is in the process of setting up screens at various malls across the country. Once these are operational, we will add 28-30 screens," Shrikant Bhasi, chairman of the Carnival Group, said. Carnival is also in discussions to buy two multiplex chains in north and south India. Once the deals materialise, it will have added 80 screens.

Last month, Carnival acquired Anil Ambani's Big Cinemas, which runs 252 screens, for Rs 700 crore. In January 2014, Carnival added 30 screens with its first acquisition of HDIL Broadway for Rs 110 crore.

The funding for the Big Cinemas buy was provided partly by a Singapore-based private equity fund that will own about 21 of the business. Besides private equity, agri-trading company Advantage Overseas has also funded Bhasi's acquisitions.

Carnival is looking at organic growth in states where buyout targets are few. "We don not want to play a numbers game. We are implementing innovative models by setting up screens, food courts as well as community centres in various north Indian states," Bhasi added.

Carnival will invest Rs 500 crore for setting up about 200 screens in Madhya Pradesh. "We are exploring both lease-outs as well as franchises in towns like Harda, Mandsaur, Rewa and Vidisha," Bhasi added.

Madhya Pradesh has 70 multiplex screens, shared among PVR, Fun Cinemas, Carnival and Big Cinemas. "Families travel to Bhopal during the weekend to watch movies, shop and eat out. Once we set up multiplexes with screens and food courts, we hope to attract a good crowd," Bhasi, born in Angamaly and brought up in Bhopal, said.

"The multiplex industry is moving towards three or four pan-India players with a few regional players.This should enable the national players to drive better bargains," said Ajay Shah, partner for transaction advisory services at EY.

Last year, INOX had acquired Satyam Cineplexes, while PVR is reportedly in talks to buy the Chennai-based Satyam Cinemas. Last month, Mexican major Cinepolis bought Fun Cinemas.

link to the webpage

CBFC may soon allow online certification of movies : economic times

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC) is making a few "big changes" in the way it deals with the certification of movies, besides seriously looking into issues related to corruption, and surrogate advertising of products in films. 

One such change is online certification. "We are at the cusp of making a big change. Certification will go online very soon," said Vani Tripathi Tikko, a board member based in Delhi. 

Tikko, who is also a BJP party member, the aim is to break down the complexity of the certification process. "Why should it be so tumultuous and difficult for a producer," she said. Over the years, the complexities have also resulted in corruption. "The board has become a body mired in controversies. There are agents who play all kinds of nefarious roles. If the process is made online, then such issues can be addressed," she added. 

Another area, where the board members are currently engaged in an internal dialogue is surrogate advertising in films has become very big and there's no point of pushing policies if things like alcohol and tobacco consumption, or things which are not good, are pushed into the minds of viewers," she said. 

The board is looking to penetrate deeper to see that how much surrogate advertising is actually damaging, even the creative content. "It is an internal policy matter and the board will soon take it up," Tikko said. On the issue of censorship of creative content, she said the board's position was clear that it did not intend to be a part of the creative process. 

The board has no business to give an opinion on the creative content of the film, or to judge how good or bad a film is, but definitely the kind of impact it has on the society and the age group of audience it influences. 

"I also have a problem with the word adult and the way forward will be to refer to the word mature," she said. India follows certification system the Adult/UA and U certificates. There is also special category, for example, for medical films. 

As far as the content is concerned, it has to be contextual. "The language, screen play, storyline and portrayal of character have to be contextual. Selectively slicing should not be encouraged," she said. Besides all this, the CBFC's will get aggressive in pushing regional films, enhance the scope of interaction between the industry and the board and promote establishment of film development corporations, in every state

link to the webpage

Tata Sky selects Ericsson for 4K video service in India : Economic Times

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson Monday said that it is enabling Tata Sky, an Indian direct­to­home (DTH) operator, to launch the first commercial 4K video service in the subcontinent. Under the contract, Ericsson will provide compression technology for 4K distribution using high resolution 1080P50 format, which will help boost TV viewing experience for Indianbased viewers subscribing to the 4K Tata Sky Video Service. 

Financial details of the contract weren't specified. "Superior technology, proven industry leadership and service excellence from Ericsson enables Tata Sky to offer a differentiated and future proofed digital experience to its subscribers," Chris Houghton, Head of Ericsson's Region India, said in a joint statement. Tata Sky had launched its 4K set top box just ahead of the ongoing cricket World Cup in India. 

With the launch of the Tata Sky 4K service, customers subscribing to this service can watch video up to four times the resolution of the standard high definition (HD) video currently available. The gear maker says that it's Compression technology HEVC (High Efficiency Video Codec) enables Tata Sky to achieve cost­effective and crucial bandwidth efficiencies while deploying new video services to meet ever increasing network and consumer demands. With availability of more content for an ever increasing number of video ­enabled devices, it is critical to maximize video delivery over available bandwidth and multiple networks. 

Ericsson predicts that there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020, and more than 15 billion of these are expected to be video enabled. "As the discerning customers of today look towards the future of TV, we are pleased to extend our partnership with Ericsson to deliver next generation 4K ultra high definition technology to our customers in India," Harit Nagpal, CEO, Tata Sky, said in a joint statement.

link to the webpage

Star India acquires 'Screen' from Express Group: Economic Times

MUMBAI: Media and entertainment giant Star India today said it has entered into an agreement with Indian Express Group to acquire film magazine 'Screen'. This is the second deal by the Rupert Murdoch­run Star Group in India today as its parent News Corp earlier in the day announced purchase of niche business newsportal VCCircle. 

Founded in 1951, Screen also owns a popular film awards franchise by the same name. 

As part of the transaction, Star will get exclusive ownership of the Screen brand franchise, including all archival material and transfer of key employees. The value of the deal was not disclosed. 

"The Screen acquisition will yield huge benefits for Star India and for Hotstar, our digital platform," Star India Chief Executive Uday Shankar said in a statement. Star has built one of the largest media and entertainment organisations in the country, reaching over 700 million viewers with nearly 40 channels in seven languages. 

"Screen is a strong and reputable franchise and gives us access to the entertainment editorial suite and the tinsel world, where news that shapes trends is made by film stars, directors and producers," Shankar said. "The deal will allow us to strengthen and expand the content brand online while taking the awards platform to the next level. "There are strong synergies and the combination of the quality content and awards franchise with Star's presence across television and digital platforms is strategic and scalable," he added.

 "We are delighted to enter into a transaction with Star India. Screen is one of the most reputed film and entertainment properties. We have built this business with a lot of passion and are confident that Star will nurture it and take it to greater heights," said Indian Express Group Chairman and Managing Director Viveck Goenka. 

BMR Advisors and ABZ Partners were the advisors to the deal. The Star network's entertainment channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Channel V, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav, Life Ok, Movies Ok and Star Plus, while its regional bouquet includes Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Star Pravah, Asianet, Asianet Plus, Suvarna, Suvarna Plus and Vijay.

link to the webpage

Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment partners with Phantom Films: bollywoodhungama.com

The business acumen of the business tycoon Anil Ambani and his vision when it comes to mergers and acquisitions is well known by one and all. This time round, his company's entertainment arm Reliance Entertainment's film production and distribution business in India will be seen partnering with the boutique production house Phantom Films in a 50:50 joint venture. 

The equation of the deal will be that, Reliance will be owning 50 per cent of the combined business and the remaining half will be equally held amongst the four promoters of Phantom Films (Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena). In addition to this, Phantom Films will also be managing the day-to-day operations of the joint venture. Reliance and Phantom have plans to develop and produce around 5-6 films a year, besides the distribution of films in India and abroad and the syndication of rights from its 175- films library. 

Speaking about this partnership, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala (Group Managing Director- Reliance Group), said, "We are delighted to partner with such creative and talented individuals as Anurag, Madhu, Vikas and Vikramaditya, who have an enviable track record of creating great cinema. This partnership is in line with our evolving strategy in the media and entertainment business, of aligning with like-minded people who are trailblazers in their own field, and playing the role of supportive investors on our part." Meanwhile, Madhu Mantena, on his part, said "It's great to be appreciated by India's leading entertainment company, and being given such a huge responsibility. We are overwhelmed with this partnership, and hope to do justice to it." Vikas Bahl added, "This not only gives us partnership with people we look up to and want to learn from, it opens up our world of learning and access to people and infrastructure which was way beyond our imagination. We are confident we will make even better films thanks to this merger." Additionally, Anurag Kashyap said, "This deal opens up our windows to international opportunities and talent. We hope to optimize on this opportunity and take Indian cinema international, and also attract excellent talent into the country." On the other hand, Vikramaditya Motwane commented, "This partnership and the avenues it opens up to us, give us the opportunity to take our movies to the next level in domestic as well as international cinema. We couldn't be more excited with this partnership."

link to the webpage

Eros International gains after ErosNow partners with GTPL : Business Standard

Eros International Media rose 3.78% to Rs 413.55 at 15:28IST on BSE after the company announced the launch of movie streaming service, Broadband Movies.

The announcement was made during market hours today, 3 March 2015.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 148.02 points, or 0.5%, to 29,607.16.

On BSE, so far 73,617 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 51,065 shares in the past one quarter.

Shares of mid-cap entertainment & media company hit a high of Rs 414.70 and a low of Rs 393.20. The stock hit a record high of Rs 425 on 5 February 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 158.25 on 5 March 2014.

Eros International Media announced the launch of movie streaming service, Broadband Movies, in a partnership between ErosNow, the dedicated online entertainment service of Eros International Media and GTPL Hathway (GTPL), one of leading cable television service providers in India. The streaming service will enable GTPL customers to watch high quality movies from the ErosNow platform on multiple smart devices. The subscription based service will be available to GTPL customers across the state of Gujarat in India for their one lakh broadband subscribers.

Media Industry should have been given a boost in the budget- Dr Subhash Chandra :dnaindia.com

The Indian Media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Indian economy.

According to FICCI, the industry grew from Rs 821 billion in 2012 to Rs 918 billion in 2013, registering an overall growth of 11.8%. Given the impetus introduced by digitization, continued growth of regional media, strength in the film sector and fast increasing new media businesses, the industry is estimated to achieve a growth rate of 15.3% in 2014 to touch Rs 1059 billion. The sector is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 14.2% to reach Rs 1786 billion by 2018." 

While Television is the largest player in the market, digital initiatives are rising across the board, connecting people who have hitherto remained unconnected from the advances in the Indian economy. The industry employs close to 1.2 million people, almost 50% of who are self employed.

Before the budget, the industry had hoped for initiatives that would give a boost the sector, and make it competitive in both an Indian and an international scenario. The industry as a whole is facing multiple taxes – service tax, entertainment tax, import duties on Set Top Boxes. It also has to pay heavy license fees for DTH that ensures that few can compete, and those who do work with slim margins. Both competitiveness and the ease of doing business in the media space is low. And, these have repercussions beyond just the growth of the sector.

Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman Essel Group, points out, "The third world war is and will be on mind share. Who controls the maximum mind share will be the winner of third world war. To my mind the war has been already begun and India is not participating yet."

He further added, "We look at traditional media of Television or Print. Even today whatever is broadcasted on BBC or CNN is taken as truth. In new media Google is ruling. When a primary or secondary school child or a teenager and adult youth wants to get a question answered, they log onto Google. Incase google reads “BalgangadharTilak( LokmanyaTilak) was a militant” ; they have no choice other than to believe it."

"Given that the Indian media not just brings news, information and entertainment to Indian homes, but acts as a window to India to those outside India and help build it as a soft power, it is important that the sector as a whole is given a boost," added Dr. Chandra.

Chandra further stated, "India will have no choice but to strengthen its reach to the humanity across the globe, for which the traditional as well as the new media will be required to be strengthened. This becomes even more important when this industry is growing and contributing significantly to the economy and employment generation."

"The Finance Minister will have to recognize that it is media industry which is a catalyst in digitizing India as well. We were expecting reduction of taxes in the 1st phase and expect to get same in the 2nd and 3rd phase." said Chandra.

It would be interesting to see how the FM would respond to the needs of the media and the entertainment industry that plays such a vital role in both nation building and in shaping opinions about India in markets outside.

link to the webpage