The Bollywood film industry is one of the biggest in the world today with an average of 1000 movies produced in a year (in comparison Hollywood produced 500 in 2009). Tapping into such a prolific movie industry and the national obsession for Bollywood movies is important for all Indian advertisers.

Emergence of a syndicated model for satellite rights

The intense competition among the current 10-12 general entertainment channels (GECs) has led to a fight for differentiated content and for access to the latest blockbuster films. This has meant television rights is a major revenue source for film producers. Several block deals were done in 2008 for sale of television rights; some exclusive, some not. Media reports recently said broadcaster Viacom18 has bought the TV rights to nearly 30 new Hindi films that are lined up for theatrical release, at an estimated Rs 250 crore. Sources also said that Viacom is buying out films as it plans to launch a Hindi movie channel.

How do blockbuster movies fare on television

Movies which have done well at the box office are aired on television after a few months. In recent times, some movies are being aired on television even while the movie is in theatres. There has been a constant feeling that blockbuster movies come with a price when it is aired on television, especially in case of the ?big movies from big banners?. We?ve looked at blockbuster movies and other Hindi movies which were aired on channels such as Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony, Colors, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, and MAX in Year 2009 and 2010 (till July 2010).

Why blockbuster movies on a GEC

Weekend content on GEC channels like Star Plus, Colors and Zee is usually a mix of top serials and blockbusters. GEC channels use blockbusters on weekends to generate new audiences. Chart 1 illustrates this point. On weekdays, movie genre?s contribution to average GRP of GEC channels is 1.8%. However, the same goes up to 12.4% on weekends. The channel shares of GECs show a spike in those weeks when a mega block buster is aired (Chart 2).

The high cost of associating with the first airing of a blockbuster gets offset by the high viewership, and the impact/ high visibility the brand gets. First, airing of a blockbuster is mostly on GEC channels. This is followed by airing on a movie channel and then alternates between GEC and movie channels.

Pricing of blockbuster movies are subject to factors like cost of acquiring title, money invested in promotion blitz, star cast, popularity of directors, status of movie (hit/ flop), etc. Usually, GEC channels are more expensive than movie channels for first time airing of a blockbuster. Higher viewership base of GECs and the cost of the promotional blitz behind a ?first time on TV? are key reasons.

This kind of buy suits a new launch or a promo-led initiative that requires a quick reach build up and the concomitant hype.

A few promo initiatives behind ?first airing on a GEC? in the recent past tells this story well (Chart 3). On an average, promotion budgets for a TV premiere are in the region of Rs 60 lakh and goes up to Rs 1.5 crore.

The second or third time airing of any blockbuster movie is more cost efficient than the first airing across channels (Chart 4). After the first airing of any blockbuster movie, prices comes down and channels price it accordingly. However, the ratings it generates are sometimes on par with the first airing (of course, with exceptions of few movies in some channels).

Blockbuster movies continue to generate consistent ratings no matter how many times they are aired on television. Movies that have done well at the box office continue to do consistent ratings even if they have been aired many many times on TV. Bhoothnath and Welcome played 56 times in the last 19 months and Jab We Met (released in 2007) continues to do well on the small screen even after 46 airings (Chart 5). These are the ?safe? titles that safe guard ratings and guarantee viewership (albeit low) at low cost to advertisers.

If a movie has been a hit at the box office, it continues to rake in viewership on TV; flop movies often deliver low ratings (Chart 6).

Conclusions

* First time airings of blockbuster movies attract a premium but deliver impact and high reach. Prices get reasonable if you are willing to wait for the second or third airing.

* Of all options, the second airing of a blockbuster movie on a movie channel is the best bet.

* If a movie has been a hit at the box office, it often does well on television. Flop movies often do not do well on television.

* Blockbuster movies continue to generate consistent ratings no matter how many times they are aired on TV.

The author is executive vice-president and head, Mudra Connext