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  • Eros International Plc Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Results

    Eros International Plc Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Results

    MUMBAI: Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) (“Eros” or “the Company”), a leading global Indian film and digital studio, today announced unaudited financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

    Financial Highlights:

    Q1 FY 2019 Highlights

    · Revenue of $60.2 million in Q1 FY2019 compared to $60.8 million in Q1 FY2018.

    · Reported strong Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $19.2 million in Q1 FY2019, compared to $15.8 million in Q1 FY2018, an increase of 21.5 % year-over-year.

    · Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 31.9% in Q1 FY2019, compared to 26.0% in Q1 FY2018.

    · Reported net debt of $186.8 million as on June 30, 2018, compared to $189.2 million as on March 31, 2018 and net leverage ratio of 2.28x. The net debt to equity ratio remains conservative at 18.9%.

    (1)   A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures discussed within this release to our GAAP operating results are included at the end of this release. See also “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

    Key Business Highlights:

    · As of June 30, 2018, Eros Now worldwide paying subscribers increased by 248.3% year-over-year and 27.8% sequentially to 10.1 million. The Company is reiterating its guidance of 16 million paying subscribers by fiscal year end 2019.  

    · As of June 30, 2018, Eros Now has exceeded 113 million registered users worldwide across APP, WAP and Web.

    · Over the next year, Eros Now is planning to launch a stable of feature films, made-for-digital originals films and over 20 original episodic programs, all of which will be available exclusively on Eros Now to paying subscribers. Three original series, Side Hero, Flip and Smoke, will be launched in the next few weeks. Originals will feature popular names like Rohan Sippy, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Siddharth Anand and Pavan Kriplani in various capacities.

    · Eros Now announced a partnership with InMobi, a leading global digital marketing platform. The partnership will for the first time enable advertisers to directly monetise on Eros Now’s video platform.

    · Eros Now reinforced its mission of non-stop entertainment, anytime, anywhere with one-of-a-kind brand campaign ‘Bolo Kya Dekhogey.’ The campaign, which rolled out three television commercials, reiterates Eros Now’s leadership position in the movie category, offering its extensive movie library across languages.

    · Eros released 14 films in Q1 FY2019 (one medium budget and 13 small budget films) as  compared to five films in Q1 FY2018 (one high budget, one medium budget and three small budget films). This is in line with Eros’ strategy of developing its own intellectual property and concentrating on content-driven films rather than high budget star-driven films.

    · Bhavesh Joshi  (Hindi), Meri Nimmo (Digital release), Blackmail (Overseas), Haami (Bengali), Goodnight City (Bengali), Alinagarer Golokdhadha (Bengali) and others were the main revenue contributing films during the first quarter.

    · Reliance Industries Ltd (“RIL” or “Reliance”) completed its acquisition of a 5% equity stake in Eros at a price of $15 per share for a total cash consideration of $46.6 million on August 6, 2018.

    · On a pro forma basis including the $46.6 million equity investment from RIL, Eros’ net debt as of June 30, 2018 is $140.2 million and the net leverage ratio is 1.71x.

    · Eros formed a ground-breaking joint venture with V. Vijayendra Prasad, one of India’s top screen-writers and directors. The exclusive collaboration will build a quality content pipeline through joint development of scripts and production and distribution of films and web-series.

    · Eros also partnered with Phars Film, one of the UAE’s largest film distribution and exhibition networks. Eros also intends to partner with Pana Film, one of the largest Turkish film studios for Indo-Turkish co-productions.

    · Eros releases ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in Turkey across 190 screens after over $45 million in box office collection in China.

    · Eros also has a distribution partnership with Central Partnership in Russia, which may open new markets for Eros releases. These strategic partnerships not only help Eros augment its in-house content production model, but also expand the geographical canvas for content monetization.

    Kishore Lulla, Eros’ Group Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated:  

    “We delivered a strong set of results this quarter, underscoring our market leadership, solid business fundamentals and continued growth in our digital platform, Eros Now.  As we continue to develop our digital offering and adapt to the dynamic global media landscape we operate in, I want to reflect on the journey we have taken so far. At our core we are, and always have been, a content company delivering premium Indian filmed entertainment to the masses with unparalleled distribution capacity. Almost 20 years ago, Eros developed the first vertically integrated film studio model in India. We combined premium content production and acquisition abilities with best-in-class international distribution reach. Over the last decade we have witnessed many of the major Hollywood studios make their entries into India. It is a testament to our content offering, brand strength and people that we have been able to maintain and grow our market share in the face of this competition.

    We are also proud to have one the deepest and richest Indian content libraries in the world. Over the last 10 years Eros has been responsible for 30 of the top 100 highest grossing box office films in India. We must not forget that even in the digital age, premium content is still immensely valuable. Our industry relationships spanning over 40 years allow us access to the best talent across the nation. Our library is constantly evolving and replenished every year with new and innovative content that appeals to all consumers.

    We continue to focus on appropriate budget films promising high IRR’s based on our unique portfolio approach. As we increase production across genres and languages, the stories we tell are driven and backed by pre-sale potential with reduced reliance on box office success. The real star of today is the story being told on screen. We are especially excited about our upcoming theatrical slate this year, in addition to our upcoming slate of Eros Now original releases.  Our content partnership with Reliance, new venture with V. Vijayendra Prasad and continued relationship with Aanand Rai are all instrumental to our future and will be keys to our success.”

    Rishika Lulla, Chief Executive Officer, Eros Digital who received the award for ‘Women leadership in Industry’ at the Times National Awards for Marketing Excellence, commented:

    “The continued strength of our digital entertainment offering was once again a significant driving force behind our solid start to Fiscal 2019. With our diversified and unparalleled library we continue to see growing consumer appetite for compelling content. We are excited to have the largest paying and registered users, beating our own target of 2 million every quarter to be at 10.1 million paying subs this quarter. Our new partnership with InMobi will also allow us to start monetising our 113 million plus registered user base while still being an SVOD model. Living up to our core philosophy of innovative and non-intrusive ad formats, we will also be experimenting with new concepts such as allowing brands to engage seamlessly with branded and high quality digital content.

    We truly believe that Eros Now’s extensive content bouquet will satisfy the insatiable appetite of our audiences and further enhance our commitment to be the source of entertainment with penetration in 100 cities across India. This is a significant expansion and with the best talent on board in our industry for movies and originals, we aim to capture an even larger audience with our upcoming star studded ‘Originals’ slate starting with ‘Side Hero’, the first ever Indian original comedy-drama featuring Kunal Roy Kapoor and directed by Rohan Sippy.

    India is undergoing a digital revolution which is further fuelled by Reliance Giga venture and other telcos bringing consumers a seamless connectivity experience, where  Indian OTT players are now leaving no stone unturned to lure the viewers to sign up. Eros Now with its matchless proposition of 52 weeks of 52 premiers across genre and languages is uniquely positioned to execute a wide distribution strategy with a library of over 11,000 films spread across over nine Indian languages. According to our proprietary data, the longest content format is the most engaging where the best movies on Eros Now gets viewed in less than two sessions and an engaged viewer returns at least three times a week, spending a minimum of 40 Minutes, making it safe to say that Eros Now is the best engagement platform.”

    Prem Parameswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of North America, also commented:

    “I am pleased with our first quarter performance, highlighted by strong margin expansion, continued balance sheet strength and solid subscriber additions out of our Eros Now business. We believe the Company is now firing on all cylinders as our Adjusted EBITDA growth and margin expansion is at 21.5% and 587 bps respectively. This coupled with our conservative balance sheet with net debt leverage ratio of 2.28x has us poised for growth in the coming fiscal year. 

    Having reached over 10.1 million paying subscribers in Eros Now through the end of the First Quarter, we are confident in continuing to grow our subscriber base over the next few years, especially given our premium content offering coupled with the large Indian and global market opportunities.”

  • Eros Intl’s Deshpande hints at group rejig, likens RIL tie-up to ‘blank canvas’

    Eros Intl’s Deshpande hints at group rejig, likens RIL tie-up to ‘blank canvas’

    NEW DELHI: The Eros group, which includes an India-listed company with the parent Eros International plc. listed on NYSE, will soon start the process of simplifying the organisational structure to realign shareholders interest after an announcement that Reliance Industries Ltd. would be investing in the parent for a five per cent stake, according to a company executive.

    In addition, Eros International will not use the money being put in by a RIL subsidiary into the joint venture with the Indian arm to set up a combined fund of $150 million for content consolidation from India but will fund the JV internally.

    “At the parent level, there is a massive infusion of cash and it is fungible. So Eros International Media Ltd (the Indian arm of Eros International Plc.) will have the resources to do what it is aiming to do. It is a market leader and we are joining hands with one of the biggest players in the business, Reliance Industries. So content consolidation is here to come,” Eros group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande told business news channel CNBC-TV18.

    Asked whether Eros International Plc will use the money being paid by Reliance to contribute its share in the $150 million [Rs 500 crore each from the two partners in the Rs 1,000 crore corpus] fund being set up by the RIL-Eros India joint venture, Deshpande clarified: “No. The money that Reliance is putting in is not to be used for this purpose. That is for a different purpose. It [Reliance] is putting money in the parent. The [Eros] group has enough resources of its own to fund this joint venture.”

    She went on to add: “The current cash on parent’s books without Reliance stake is already about $140 million. The parent always gives film advances to the Indian company and the Indian company sells overseas rights, etc. to the parent company. So even without 5 per cent stake, the group already has in excess of Rs 500 crore with it already.”

    According to Deshpande, who will be quitting Eros and formally joining RIL attached to chairman Mukesh Ambani’s office to look after its entertainment business in April 2018, Eros will soon take steps to align all the interests of shareholders, while refusing to comment or commit on any mergers and/or reverse merger with NYSE-listed parent.

    So, if the RIL money will not be pumped into the joint venture by Eros International Plc and kept aside for other purposes, what will the company do with the cash?
    Pointing out that the minority stake signals “beginning of a very long-term partnership”, Deshpande told CNBC-TV18, “At the moment there is no immediate use of the cash except that it nicely brings down the net debt of the group and capitalises our balance sheet quite nicely and gives us flexibility if we need cash during movement of structure, etc. So I think it is firepower that it gives us and it gives us alignment. More than the money it aligns us to a very powerful partner.”

    Pressed further by journalists on timelines of possible restructuring and re-alignment of shareholders’ interest post a JV with RIL, Deshpande said without committing on any mergers, “There has been a lot of talk on the cards that we need to align all shareholders’ interest at one level. Right now it is a stepped kind of structure. So we are actively looking to see what we can do in that respect, where we align all shareholders at one level…All these things are governed by huge compliance, so I am not at liberty to share anything further on this topic. However, what shareholders can take away is that we are actively working towards aligning the interest of all shareholders at one level.”

    Asked about RIL’s investments in another content maker and OTT platform owner Balaji Telefilms and whether the RIL-Eros JV will stop scouting for more partners, Deshpande explained, “I think the industry is quite fragmented and the vision is to try and consolidate it, grow the industry together using Eros’ expertise in the content space. So, the idea is to make all kinds of content…[and] so it is not a limiting kind of a partnership, it is a very blank canvas wide partnership.

    “We want to work with every content maker that is out there— [what] specific plans RIL has, I will be able to share post April. But wearing the Eros hat right now, I think the plan is to make as much compelling content as possible, keep content prices under control, partner and try and grow the market. We are open to all kinds of ideas, all kinds of collaborations [and] not just with content partners, but with other OTT partners. So I think the idea is to put one and one together and make it eleven.”

    Dwelling on the financial performance of Eros International in FY’19, Deshpande, who’s had leadership stints at Star and Zee earlier, said, “I think scale is what you can expect. I think we can grow in the next year by another 15-20 per cent because the slate will expand, we can double the slate with half the money. So I think it is a great outlook, it is a win-win outlook for both companies.”

    Also Read:

    RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

  • RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

    RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

    MUMBAI: Continuing its media march, which is also an indication of further disruptions in the Indian and global entertainment industry, the USD 51 billion Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is all set to acquire 5 per cent equity stake in NYSE-listed Eros International Plc (Eros) and jointly set up a $150 million (Rs 1,000 crore) fund to co-produce and consolidate content from India.

    In the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and other approvals, RIL, through a subsidiary, is looking to pick up the minority stake at a price of $15 per share, representing an 18 per cent premium to the last closing price of the stock. Eros stock quoted at $13.30 on the NYSE at local US time of 16:01:15 on 20 February 2018, having opened at $13.25. RIL closed Tuesday at Rs 919.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

    RIL and Eros International Media Ltd (Eros India) will equally invest in the fund to produce and acquire Indian films and digital originals across all languages, according to a joint statement put out late on Tuesday evening.

    RIL’s investment will also result in some management changes in both the companies. Eros’ group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande will be stepping down from her executive role after over 17 years and move on to head the media and entertainment (M&E) business at RIL as the president of the chairman’s office.

    Deshpande will start her role at RIL from April 2018 but will continue to remain as a non-executive director on the board of Eros, while Kishore Lulla will resume his position as group chairman and CEO of Eros, the statement added.

    In her new role at RIL, Deshpande will lead the company’s initiatives in M&E to organically build and grow businesses around the content ecosystem, such as broadcasting, films, sports, music, digital, gaming, animation as well as integrate Reliance’s existing media investments such as Viacom18 and Balaji Telefilms with a view to build, scale and consolidate the fragmented $20 billion Indian M&E sector.

    RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said, “We are pleased to join hands with Eros, as it will bring further synergies into our plans, making for a win-win partnership. We are delighted to welcome Ms Jyoti Deshpande into the Reliance family and believe that she will not only give wings to our plans but also play a pivotal role in transforming the sector.”

    Lulla elaborated, “I am very pleased that Eros is partnering with RIL in its entertainment journey with several synergies across technology, content and digital with Eros Now. We look forward to collaborating and growing as we continue to make new strides on the digital and content forefronts. I am confident that together, we can make a meaningful difference. Jyoti Deshpande has been an invaluable part of the incredible Eros growth journey and I am confident that she will make a positive impact on the industry in her new role at RIL.”

    Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) is a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry that acquires, co-produces and distributes Indian films across all available formats such as cinema, television and digital new media. Eros International Plc became the first Indian media company to list on the NYSE and also runs a fledgling OTT service under Eros Now brand. 

    “I am delighted that RIL has strategically aligned with Eros. My new assignment at RIL will allow me to push boundaries, set new standards of excellence, assemble a world-class young leadership team and adopt a collaborative approach to architect and execute this ambition…but more than anything, I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves,” said Deshpande while commenting on the proposed partnership.

    The Eros and earlier Balaji investments by RIL indicate that Ambani may be investing small in content and distribution companies, but taking big steps towards building an integrated media and entertainment behemoth, an industry observer opined, adding that with the financial muscle that the Ambanis have, the Indian media sector should brace itself for some more disruptions after the Reliance Jio show.

    In the TMT sector, RIL already has investments in media companies like Viacom18 (majority stake), TV18/Network18, telecom company Reliance Jio and a host of other media properties, including magazines and digital ventures.

    Also Read :

    TV18 to increase Viacom18 stake to 51%

    Reliance Industries buys Balaji Telefilms stake for Rs 4.13 bn

    Viacom18 celebrations: Mukesh Ambani sets the roadmap for next 10 years

    Reliance Jio, China’s Omnicom fuel massive global mobile data traffic

  • Eros International Plc reports massive bottomline gains for third quarter

    BENGALURU: Eros International Plc (Eros) reported more than a 15 fold (15.4  fold) increase in operating profits for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) as compared to corresponding year ago quarter. Operating profit in the current quarter was $8.2 million as compared to just $0.5 million in Q3-16. The company reported Net Income of $11.5 million as compared to a loss of $2.5 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    The company’s topline (revenues) however declined 5.3 percent year-over-year to $57.3 million in the current quarter from $60.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA in Q3-17 increased by 62.9 percent to $14.5 million, compared to $8.9 million in the prior year period.

    Eros explains that the strong increase in margins and profitability vis-à-vis the slight decline in revenues was due to the negative impact of demonetisation on theatrical revenues in the third quarter partially offset by strong high-margin catalogue sales.

    Company speak

    Eros managing director and group CEO Jyoti Deshpande said, “I am very proud of the progress we have made over the past few months on our journey to transform our Company into a leading global digital distribution business supported by the power of our brand, premium content and unparalleled distribution capabilities. The momentum we highlighted in November continues to accelerate with the growing success of Eros Now, our OTT platform which reached 58 million registered users and crossed 2 million paying subscribers in December 2016.

    As we discussed in our Q2 results last November, the rapidly evolving digital media landscape in India including increased competition from Western OTT players for digital rights has underscored the value of digital content in India. It also reinforces our overall strategy to focus on premium content with the widest possible appeal. In the long term the rising value of digital rights will make our existing content library more valuable and increase the demand for our new release digital content across all platforms – including satellite and cable.

    The demonetisation efforts undertaken by the Indian Government in November have clearly had a short-term impact on many aspects of the Indian economy, especially consumer discretionary spending. To that end while the entire media sector in India has been temporarily impacted by these measures, we feel that the underlying push to digitisation will directly and indirectly benefit our company going forward in many ways. We have been working tirelessly to provide consumers with multiple payment options for Eros Now, from telco billing to digital wallets to mobile payment providers. The push to digitisation reinforces our strategy and we feel we are well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.

    Finally, our strong upcoming production slate of over 50 films has gone through a stringent green-lighting process for several months. The upcoming lineup includes highly promising projects including five films from Trinity, two Indo‐China co‐productions, a Shah Rukh Khan film from Color Yellow, two sequels from our own content stable like Vicky Donor-2, Badlapur-2, Munna Michael starring Tiger Shroff and Chanda Mama Door Ke starring Sushant Singh, amongst others.”

    ErosNow

    The company says that Eros International’s OTT Platform ErosNow has over 20 lakh (2 million) subscribers worldwide, it has 5.8 crore (58 million) registered users worldwide across WAPP, APP and the web. The platform has rights to over 5,000 films, 250,000 audio tracks with 13 music labels providing music content.

    The company says that Eros Now has integration deals around the world with over 20 different telecom operators and nine different OEMs and connected devices. Further, over the past four months Eros Now has digitally premiered more than 15 films from the Eros International new release slate. Eros Now’s original content offering began with the release of ‘Salute Siachen’, India’s first ever celebrity high endurance expedition to the Siachen Glacier. In addition, Eros Now originals such as Flesh by Siddharth Anand, Smoke and Side Hero will be launched in FY-18.

     

  • Eros Now’s content available to Lyca TV’s European customers

    Eros Now’s content available to Lyca TV’s European customers

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge over-the-top (OTT) Bollywood entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc, yesterday announced that it is now available on the Lyca TV platform.

    Lyca TV, the world’s largest ethnic content online Over-the-top (OTT) entertainment provider, enables its consumers to experience the convenience of virtual home entertainment anywhere. One can watch his favourite TV channels across a wide range of devices on a single subscription.

    The launch of Eros Now will provide Lyca TV customers with access to the world’s largest collection of premium Indian entertainment with hundreds of titles in several languages. This development further enhances Lyca TV’s offering to customers, particularly across its Indian consumer base. The service will be included in Tamil, Sinhala and African packages and will be available for a small additional fee in others.

    Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh says, “With this association, we continue to amplify our presence across top streaming services by showcasing a compelling array of Bollywood and regional language content and reinforcing our reach to our subscribers.”

    Lyca Group deputy chairman Prem Sivasamy said, “We are bringing our extensive customer base enhanced access to a wide range of popular channels and TV shows. This development further demonstrates Lyca Group’s continued commitment to providing our customers with access to their communities back home.”

    Lyca TV, part of the Lyca Group, delivers a broad range of international TV shows across multiple devices. The platform caters to a wide range of major ethnic communities, streaming over 450 channels – more than any competitor – in over 25 languages. LycaTV can be viewed via television, desktop, mobile or tablet.

    Eros Now offers a wide array of entertainment from music to movies and television content across languages. Eros’ vast movie library consists of Bollywood blockbusters including its latest super hits like Housefull 3, Dishoom, Happy Bhaag Jayegi, Bajirao Mastani and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

  • Eros Now’s content available to Lyca TV’s European customers

    Eros Now’s content available to Lyca TV’s European customers

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge over-the-top (OTT) Bollywood entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc, yesterday announced that it is now available on the Lyca TV platform.

    Lyca TV, the world’s largest ethnic content online Over-the-top (OTT) entertainment provider, enables its consumers to experience the convenience of virtual home entertainment anywhere. One can watch his favourite TV channels across a wide range of devices on a single subscription.

    The launch of Eros Now will provide Lyca TV customers with access to the world’s largest collection of premium Indian entertainment with hundreds of titles in several languages. This development further enhances Lyca TV’s offering to customers, particularly across its Indian consumer base. The service will be included in Tamil, Sinhala and African packages and will be available for a small additional fee in others.

    Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh says, “With this association, we continue to amplify our presence across top streaming services by showcasing a compelling array of Bollywood and regional language content and reinforcing our reach to our subscribers.”

    Lyca Group deputy chairman Prem Sivasamy said, “We are bringing our extensive customer base enhanced access to a wide range of popular channels and TV shows. This development further demonstrates Lyca Group’s continued commitment to providing our customers with access to their communities back home.”

    Lyca TV, part of the Lyca Group, delivers a broad range of international TV shows across multiple devices. The platform caters to a wide range of major ethnic communities, streaming over 450 channels – more than any competitor – in over 25 languages. LycaTV can be viewed via television, desktop, mobile or tablet.

    Eros Now offers a wide array of entertainment from music to movies and television content across languages. Eros’ vast movie library consists of Bollywood blockbusters including its latest super hits like Housefull 3, Dishoom, Happy Bhaag Jayegi, Bajirao Mastani and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

  • Eros International & makers of Belaseshe unite to release Bengali film Praktan across India

    Eros International & makers of Belaseshe unite to release Bengali film Praktan across India

    Mumbai, May 12, 2016: Following the unprecedented success of Belaseshe, Eros International, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, joins hands with directors Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, the makers of Belaseshe, once again to release Bengali film Praktan (Former) starring the biggest stars of the Bengali film industry—Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta—across India on May 27. Praktan is the first Bengali film to be released nationally and internationally on same day.

    Directed by Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, the romantic drama that beautifully captures the importance of memories, will bring together Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta after 15 years. The film also stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabitri Chatterjee, Anupam Roy, Anindya Chaterjee among others. The popular singer, lyricist and music director, Anupam Roy, of Piku fame, will be debuting as an actor in this film.

    Eros anticipates a universal appeal for this film among discerning audiences across India, therefore, apart from Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune, the company also plans to release Praktan in newer markets across India.

    Commenting on the vast pan India release, Nandu Ahuja, Senior VP, India Theatricals, Eros International said, “We want to open up markets for Bengali films across the country, enter untapped, newer territories such as Baroda, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chandigarh. We are happy to unite with Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy once again after the tremendous success of Belaseshe. With the biggest stars in the Bengali industry, hit music and an intriguing story, I am sure Praktan will woo audiences across India.”

    Director Shiboprasad Mukherjee added, “After Belaseshe, we are associating with Eros yet again and together for the first time we will bring Praktan, a Bengali film to the national and international audience on the same day as Kolkata. We are grateful to Eros for their support for Bengali cinema.”

  • Eros International & makers of Belaseshe unite to release Bengali film Praktan across India

    Eros International & makers of Belaseshe unite to release Bengali film Praktan across India

    Mumbai, May 12, 2016: Following the unprecedented success of Belaseshe, Eros International, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, joins hands with directors Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, the makers of Belaseshe, once again to release Bengali film Praktan (Former) starring the biggest stars of the Bengali film industry—Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta—across India on May 27. Praktan is the first Bengali film to be released nationally and internationally on same day.

    Directed by Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, the romantic drama that beautifully captures the importance of memories, will bring together Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta after 15 years. The film also stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabitri Chatterjee, Anupam Roy, Anindya Chaterjee among others. The popular singer, lyricist and music director, Anupam Roy, of Piku fame, will be debuting as an actor in this film.

    Eros anticipates a universal appeal for this film among discerning audiences across India, therefore, apart from Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune, the company also plans to release Praktan in newer markets across India.

    Commenting on the vast pan India release, Nandu Ahuja, Senior VP, India Theatricals, Eros International said, “We want to open up markets for Bengali films across the country, enter untapped, newer territories such as Baroda, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chandigarh. We are happy to unite with Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy once again after the tremendous success of Belaseshe. With the biggest stars in the Bengali industry, hit music and an intriguing story, I am sure Praktan will woo audiences across India.”

    Director Shiboprasad Mukherjee added, “After Belaseshe, we are associating with Eros yet again and together for the first time we will bring Praktan, a Bengali film to the national and international audience on the same day as Kolkata. We are grateful to Eros for their support for Bengali cinema.”

  • Eros to buy stake in Anytime for Asia Pacific VoD distribution

    Eros to buy stake in Anytime for Asia Pacific VoD distribution

    MUMBAI: Eros International Plc, the company that owns, creates and globally distributes Bollywood content, is in the process of investing up to £2.1 million (Rs 178 million) for a minority stake in Singapore-based Anytime Pte Ltd.

    As part of the deal, Eros-branded Bollywood video-on-demand (VoD) service showcasing its library of over 1300 titles will be launched in the 14 Asia Pacific countries where Anytime service has a license to operate. Anytime, one of Asia’s leading supplier of VoD Hollywood entertainment, has shareholders which include CPE Holdings Inc. (Sony), Fox Media Services Inc, Intel Capital, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc, YTC Group (a Singapore based multinational conglomerate), the Macquarie Bank Group and Coote/Hayes Productions LLC (a U.S.-based TV and film production company).

    The agreement also provides for the formation of a joint venture that will be majority owned by Eros to distribute Hollywood movies on digital platforms throughout India. “The JV will provide fully programmed and customized premium Hollywood content services to local service providers as well as to consumers over the open internet,” Eros said in a statement.

    The deal, which will give Eros a seat on Anytime’s board, is, however, subject to final due diligence and agreement of full terms. Said Eros International CMD Kishore Lulla, “Anytime’s Hollywood digital entertainment services, world-class technical programming and marketing expertise complement Eros’ strategic vision for expanding choice for consumers in India. Working with Anytime will help us further expand the reach of our extensive Bollywood film library.”

    Added Anytime president and CEO Craig Zimbulis, “We are excited about the tremendous value this partnership with Eros International will bring to our shareholders and consumers by expanding ANYTIME’s Hollywood on demand entertainment to a massive Indian market and taking Eros’ premium Bollywood content on VOD to the Asia Pacific region.”

    Anytime is the leading VoD channel over IPTV, broadband and digital cable networks in Asia and the Pacific. With four of Hollywood’s major studios and Intel as its shareholders, Anytime has an extensive content of current and library titles available on demand.