UTV Motion sells TV rights of 18 movies for Rs 95 crores

UTV Motion Pictures has sold TV rights of seven of its films even before their theatre release as part of an Rs 95-crore syndication deal. The Shahid Kapoor starrer, ‘Chance Pe Dance’, ‘Phillum City’ (John Abraham), ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ (Irrfan Khan), ‘Peter Gaya Kaam Se’, and three other yet-to-be-released movies are among the 18 films for which the production company has signed non-exclusive deals with entertainment channels Colors and NDTV Imagine. UTV CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said he has also entered into international syndication with B4U and Channel 4 for the bunch of films that includes ‘Kaminey’, ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Kurbaan’ and ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ It’s one of the biggest TV deals for Bollywood films since the recent slowdown that saw prices of satellite rights dip up to 60 per cent.

Companies sound off branding plan for distinct connect with consumers

The magic of sound, one of your most powerful memory senses, is the sense that most brands in the crowded telecom market are betting on to find a space in your busy brain. The name of the game is sonic branding. Also, signature tune is vital to strike a chord when companies operate across geographies that speak different languages and deal with globe-trotting customers having reduced attentions spans. “India is a country of music lovers and good music helps to connect with the audience,” says Shalini Sethi, head of communications at Aircel, a young telco that roped in music composer trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy to do its signature tune. The concept is not new. We have been listening to “Vicks ki goli lo, kich kich...” and “Tandarusti ki raksha...” for ages now. In telecom space itself, Airtel made Rahman sit down and compose an exclusive tone eight years ago. Since then, it has become one of the most downloaded ringtones in the world.

Online tracking

Internet advertising is minuscule but firms are turning to YouTube and social networking sites to see how their campaigns are faring. Most marketers now load their advertisements on YouTube the very day they break on mass media. Consumer feedback can be attained in an instant. The Internet has changed our lives in many ways. It has also changed the way marketers and brand-builders work. The biggest benefit is that the impact is measurable. The typical consumer behaviour lends itself to easy measurement and analysis in the digital world. It helps marketers calculate their return on investment better than mass-media advertising. Research has shown that over 75 per cent of the online population in the country is between 19 and 35 years of age. Close to 80 per cent of this young population prefers the Internet over television when it comes to entertainment and information. Clearly, the Internet has begun to spread to the bottom of the pyramid.

NDTV sells stake in Imagine to Turner

Media group NDTV announced its agreement to sell 76 per cent of its stake in its entertainment channel NDTV Imagine to Turner Asia Pacific Venture Inc. NDTV, through its subsidiary NDTV Networks, will sell this stake in a deal worth $67 million. Turner would further acquire fresh equity worth $50 million to take its control in the channel up to 92 per cent. NDTV Networks will retain 5 per cent stake in the GEC before the issue of fresh shares.

Small-budget Paa gives a lesson in meltdown times

Paa was released with 500-odd prints, and made at a cost of Rs. 14.5 crore, according to industry estimates, opened weak but picked up dramatically and grossed Rs. 35 crore as on December 12 in the domestic and global market. Paa went on to make further profits too, but this hasn’t been the case with many films that had bunched-up their releases this year, thanks to a two-month shutdown due to the multiplex-producer row. Add the global economic slowdown, which impacted overseas revenues adversely, and the year has clearly turned out to be Bollywood’s annus horribilis. The focus was back to basics — content and release timing — something that seems to have worked to Paa’s advantage.

Golf Inc pays for Tiger's affairs with millions in lost ads

Tiger Woods’s indiscretions will cascade through Golf Inc, costing the PGA Tour, television networks such as CBS and merchandise vendors like Nike Inc $220 million or more in lost revenue. Woods’s indefinite leave from the sport, announced on December 11 after he disclosed marital infidelity, deprives professional golf of its biggest draw. In his absence, tournament crowds may be 20 per cent smaller, according to organisers. Television audiences may shrink by half, based on Nielsen Co data from past events. TV advertising may drop by as much as 40 per cent. The industry pumped about $76 billion into the US economy in 2005, a 22 per cent increase from 2000, according to the most recent study commissioned by the US PGA Tour, the PGA of America and the US Golf Association. Operating golf facilities made up the biggest portion of the total, $28.1 billion. Endorsements, tournaments and associations accounted for $1.68 billion of activity. Golf supplies totaled $6.15 billion.

Shrugging off the slump

Caution, cost-cutting, consolidation — the ‘C’ word dominated the Indian entertainment sector in times of recession. The Rs 58,400 crore entertainment and media sector in India, which has been growing in double digits in the past two years, saw single-digit growth in 2009. A PWC report says the sector was expected to grow by 8.3 per cent in 2009, but with recovery signs on the horizon, analysts said 2010 is likely to see growth in double digits again. However, the meltdown has snuffed out some of the excesses in the system. For instance, production costs are being downsized in films; the focus is back on content and, with liquidity still tight, the rush to screen films at multiplexes has eased. In television, there has been both growth and consolidation. Analysts say TV is a major contributor to the industry revenue and is estimated to grow at 11.4 per cent over the next five years. The radio industry also suffered and analysts say there was a push to cut overheads and costs, even as private FM players waited all year for the FM Phase III policy to plan out the future roadmap.