YouTube emerges as new stream of revenue for film-makers

YouTube could become a showcase for Bollywood movies if Studio 18’s experiment with its latest film ‘Striker’ catches on. The film was released simultaneously on the website in all countries except India and Pakistan. “The response for Striker has been extremely positive—the movie already has 7.67 lakh hits and it is expected to go further,” said Gautam Anand, Director, Content Partnerships, Asia-Pacific, at Google Inc., which owns YouTube.

Producers either share advertising revenue with YouTube or get viewers to pay a fee, as with Striker, which is available to US-based viewers at $4.99 (Rs230). YouTube recently added a Bollywood channel to its full-length movie library, featuring Manorama 6 Feet Under, Naukar, Bawarchi, Shaan and Mumbai Salsa available for free viewing. Online video could become a key revenue source as more users take to the medium.

Happy days are back again for the media and advertising sector

India’s media and advertising industry will swing back to double-digit growth this year after shrinking in 2009, a study has predicted. The Pitch-Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2010 expects the industry to grow 13% over 2009 to Rs21,145 crore by the end of this year. The projection comes as a relief to advertisers, after industry revenues slid 10% from Rs20,717 crore in 2008 to Rs18,670 crore in 2009.

Tweet, tweet little star!

There were days when the media would write whatever they pleased about Bollywood celebrities leaving the numerous fans shocked and wondering with no way of finding out the real story. But not any more! With more and more celebs getting tech savvier and hopping onto the social networking bandwagon, it’s now the ‘in’ thing to directly interact with fans.

Take the case of social networking site Twitter. It’s a hot favourite with the Bollywood tribe and is getting bigger by the day with the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan posting regular updates about themselves. It was never this good for fans who now get the chance to get close to their favourite star, discover the real side of his/her personality and also witness their camaraderie with fellow filmwallahs.

IPL accessories may throw up Rs 280-cr opportunities

After a host of sponsorship deals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the first two seasons, sports marketing experts are now eyeing additional advertising revenue to the tune of Rs 280 crore for the eight teams. This may be possible from selling various yet-to-be sold spots on the jerseys and gears worn by the IPL players.

Print media holds its own among India’s youth

According to a survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, majority of the 333-million-odd literate youth in the country are religious, support the Women’s Reservation Bill, evince little interest in politics or fashion, and are generally happy with their lot. Almost a fourth of them get a newspaper at home, and around one in ten subscribe to a magazine.

Even in an age of over a hundred 24x7 news channels, newspapers are seen as the primary source for news and current affairs, with television largely perceived as an entertainment medium. The Internet is still in its infancy, and radio is a bigger source of information compared to magazines, even in urban India. And just one in four read leisure (non-syllabus) books.

Interestingly, newspapers and the Internet share a high out-of-home exposure. Around half of all youth get to read a newspaper outside their homes, with shops / cafes / restaurants and neighbors as chief access points. Ditto with the Internet, with around two-thirds accessing it at cyber cafes and / or the workplace.

Hindi channels use Web 2.0 technologies to widen reach

Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) are sharpening their focus on the social networking medium. While many shows have fan groups on social media platforms such as Orkut and Facebook, channels are even building Facebook applications to engage audiences.

Sony Entertainment Television, for instance, plans to have a presence on all social networking sites, expanding from the current Facebook and Orkut accounts. NDTV Imagine, on the other hand, has a fan base of 2,000 members on Facebook, while on Twitter it has around 1,000 “followers”. At Star India, several applications are available on Facebook and Orkut.

Companies and analysts, however, believe that revenues from social networking platform in India have still not started pouring in.

Ad majors bet big on rural network

Recognizing the growing importance of rural communications in India, leading advertising majors are strengthening their rural advertising wings to woo advertisers. To start with, Ogilvy & Mather India (O&M) is investing on technological services to communicate and interact with rural consumers. Currently, Ogilvy Outreach, rural wing of O&M handles Hindustan Unilever’s rural communication account.

On the other hand, Linterland, Lowe’s rural wing is extending its manpower and database to meet the evolving needs of clients. In their head-on battle in rural markets, O&M and Lowe are drawing up fresh action plans to connect with rural audiences in India. Yet another ad major, Mudra Max is also planning to invest in human resources and technology to handle new rural accounts. The accent seems to be on ‘rural communications through new media’ in the Indian ad industry.

My Name is Khan chasing 3 idiots

Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name is Khan has earned gross revenues worldwide of Rs 90.2 crore, as per the data released by Fox Star India, which distributed the movie. In comparison, Aamir Khan’s top grosser, Three Idiots, reportedly earned Rs 90 crore in the first three days of its release. In a statement, Fox said that on Sunday, MNIK became the biggest single day hit internationally for a Bollywood movie and has also earned the biggest three-day collections worldwide. The movie earned Rs 47 crore at the domestic box office and an estimated Rs 42.2 crore internationally.

Reliance offers to buy 62.1% in Fame India

Anil Ambani’s film-making and distribution firm Reliance MediaWorks Ltd has dug in its heels by making an open offer to purchase a controlling stake in Fame India Ltd, a Mumbai-based cinema hall chain that’s at the centre of a corporate battle after rival cineplex operator Inox Leisure Ltd bought a stake in it.

Reliance MediaWorks offered to buy 21.6 million shares, making up a 62.1% stake in Fame India, at Rs 83.40 a piece in the company, in an offer document filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Inox bought 43.3% stake from Fame promoters—much to the chagrin of the Anil Ambani group—and subsequently, through open market purchases, raised its holding to at least 50.5%, according to a company filing with the stock exchanges.