DTH doubles up as box-office for films

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: The direct-to-home (DTH) industry is becoming a key revenue stream for filmmakers. This, since with the growth in the subscriber base of DTH services, the pay-per-view model is becoming popular.

Traditionally, filmmakers generated revenues through four streams; theatrical releases, home videos, satellite releases and music. The pay-per-view model in DTH is fast becoming the fifth stream.

UTV Motion Picture’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! will be the first Indian film to be telecast on two major DTH platforms - Dish TV and Tata Sky - within three weeks of its release. This deal has been finalised keeping in mind maximisation of revenues using short windows.

Dish TV as well as Tata Sky will premiere the film on December 18. The movie will be priced at Rs 100 to end consumers across all platforms, and will be available to viewers on a pay-per-view basis for download for 24 hours. UTV is also in talks with other DTH players to replicate the model on their platforms.

“DTH pay-per-view is a new stream of revenue and a process of discovery, for producers as well as operators. In this current environment, where rampant piracy eats into theatrical revenues from day one of release, it makes commercial sense for content creators to have shorter windows of exploitation for all non theatrical rights like pay-per-view, video-on-demand, and satellite and home video, so that content can be monetised effectively,” said Amrita Pandey, vice-president, international distribution and syndication, UTV Movies.

Globally, pay-per-view has emerged from being an ancillary segment of film business to a full-fledged industry. It is now growing in India as well. Worldwide, pay-per-view revenues have grown steadily over the past decade, accelerating somewhat during the past five years with the addition of new pay-per-view subscriber services. According to global estimates, 45% of all television households currently subscribe to basic services. Of these, many subscribers pay a premium for additional services.

According to a spokesperson of Big TV, the DTH business of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), “Pay-per-view will drive revenue and leadership in the Indian DTH sector on a long-term outlook. Specifically for BIG TV, our strategy has been to provide a subscription-based bundled service called Subscription Video-On-Demand.” Here, Big TV’s model is different from industry practice, where subscribers pay on per-view basis.