ITV

Tag: Inox

  • United Mediaworks ropes in Satish Mundhe as VP – media sales

    United Mediaworks ropes in Satish Mundhe as VP – media sales

    MUMBAI: United Mediaworks has appointed Satish Mundhe as its VP – media sales, where he will be responsible in getting newer associations resulting in advertising and marketing revenue.

     

    Mundhe joins United Mediaworks after a stint of nearly a decade at Inox Leisure where he was a senior member in the ad-sales and marketing department. He was instrumental in carrying out innovative strategies for various clients and was also responsible in conducting premiers and special screenings for clients to generate additional revenue and get brand mileage.

     

    Mundhe said, “I am very glad to join United Mediaworks. They have been doing some great work and now are looking to expand their presence across markets in India. This gives me an opportunity to apply my knowledge and expertise and help them build a stronger business model. I am looking forward to working with them.”

     
    United Mediaworks co-founder and joint managing director Ashish Bhandari added, “We are glad to have Satish on-board with us. He is a highly accomplished and competent media professional. With his level of focus, dedication and commitment, we are sure United Mediaworks will achieve greater heights sooner than imagined.”

     
    With more than 15 years of experience in the marketing and sales field, Mundhe has worked with a wide range of brands like Multi Screen Media’s television channels, Axis Bank and Adlabs Imagica amongst others.

  • Inox ups digital strategy with new mobile app & website revamp

    Inox ups digital strategy with new mobile app & website revamp

    MUMBAI: Multiplex chain Inox Leisure has upped its digital strategy with the launch of an app for Android based phones, iPhone, iPad and tablet users. Additionally, Inox has also revamped its website to make it faster and effective for its guests.

     

    The new mobile app allows users to check show timings of movies, select seats and book tickets on the go. Nearest theatres can also be located through the app. The app will also provide real time information on movies and special offers.

     

    Inox, in association with Brenzy, has introduced an app that provides movie goers with real time information on films, special offers and discounts that one can avail at the multiplex through a one-time download of the application Brenzy.

     

    On its revamped website, Inox has initiated a new concept for its consumers. Moviegoers can take part in contests that are run regularly along with real time updates. The website also serves the purpose of providing information on all Inox properties as well as its investors, shareholders and the media.

  • Rentrak inks deal with India’s Carnival Cinemas for box office measurement

    Rentrak inks deal with India’s Carnival Cinemas for box office measurement

    MUMBAI: Box office measurement body Rentrak is slowly expanding its footprint in India, where until now box office numbers haven’t had a systematic tracking system. Rentrak, which recently inked a deal with India’s Cinepolis multiplex chain, has now joined hands with the Mumbai based Carnival Cinemas. 

     

    Rentrak will implement its box office reporting system across Carinval Cinemas properties.

     

    Carnival Cinemas with 300 screens currently ranks as India’s third-largest exhibition chain after PVR and Inox. The company plans to increase its screen count to more than 1,000 screens across India by 2017, including theaters in small cities throughout South India.

     

    It may be recalled that last year Carnival Cinemas acquired Big Cinemas, which was the multiplex business of Reliance Mediaworks.

     

    “We are excited to expand our measurement in India and work with Carnival Cinemas as they continue to become one of the top players in the market. Rentrak is committed to expanding our box office measurement throughout India to help their film production be more transparent,” said Rentrak president of global movie services Ron Giambra.

     

    “We are delighted to partner with Rentrak, the global leaders in box office measurement to herald an era of precise box office information in the Indian movie industry. Carnival, while striving to provide the best possible movie watching experience to its viewers, also strives to uphold the global best practices in all aspects of film exhibition. I am sure that our synergy will add value to the industry as a whole,” added Carnival CEO Group P.V Sunil.

     

    Rentrak has been measuring box office receipts in India since October 2014. The first film it tracked was Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan’s PK, which recently became the country’s highest-grossing film of all time.

  • Cinema advertising to grow at 20%: Interactive Television’s Ajay Mehta

    Cinema advertising to grow at 20%: Interactive Television’s Ajay Mehta

    MUMBAI: Movie buffs prefer visiting a cinema for the almost minimal number of advertisements that play during the movie run. Advertisers are still somewhat hesitant of opting for these ads since there is a lack of measurement of these ads. Contrary though according to Group M’s biannual advertising expenditure futures report titled ‘This Year Next Year’ (TYNY) cinema advertising closed 2014 with a 25 per cent increase.

    When asked at what rate he expects cinema advertising to grow for this year, Interactive Television CEO Ajay Mehta says that it will grow at 20 per cent.

    Interactive Television specializes in cinema advertising and releases the CAM report. According to Mehta, for the last two – three years cinema has been the second fastest growing medium after the digital. “While digital is on a different growth trajectory, the basic level of cinema in the country is low,” says Mehta. 

    “Even though we are a cinema savvy country, the total cinema spends is less than one per cent, which is even lower than the global average. When you look at global averages there are countries where cinema is hardly part of the consumer’s habit,” he adds.

    There are a few reasons why the segment is seeing a growth. Firstly it is because of the low base number, which is increasing today. Secondly, over the last two to three years there has been the phenomenon of “multiplexisation” of the industry, which is getting reflected because of a whole round of consolidation that will continue in 2015. “As players like PVR, INOX, Cinepolis and Carnival get bigger and stronger, the whole consolidation will further aid growth.”

    The growth can also be attributed to the digitisation process of single screen theaters wherein films are being delivered directly via satellite to theaters as compared to the costlier traditional prints, which has reduced costs and is creating transparency as practically the entire single screen universe (barring an odd 500) is digitised.

    According to industry estimates, a 60 second ad in a multiplex for one week (which is minimum of 21 shows and can go up to 28)  in the top metros would cost Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, while the cost for single screens would between Rs 1,500 to 2,000 for the same period. The cost in areas such as South Mumbai and South Delhi multiplexes is much higher than the average figures for multiplexes.

    As per a report by Interactive Television brands such as Choc On, HDFC Life, Vicco Vajradanti, Engage, Vicco Sugarfree, Woodland, TVS Apache, Vicco Shaving Cream, LIC and Bhima Jewellers have been consistently advertising on cinema. The report takes into account their presence on cinema for the period August 2013 to January 2015. Choc On as a brand is totally built on cinema as majority of their spends are on this medium.

    The selection process of including cinema advertising spends depends on the brand’s target audience and cinema space in their priority markets. While a regional brand could select a single screen cinema, for brands with larger pockets it could be an “and” option wherein both multiplexes and single screens are combined.

    Telecom is one category that has started advertising recently on cinema on both single screens and multiplexes as it seek to penetrate its brand campaign in Tier III and rural markets, like the FMCG category. “In 2014 we saw e-commerce brands like Flipkart and Amazon including specific travel verticals like travel websites increase their spends, which will continue,” opines Mehta.

    2014 also for the first time saw luxury brands taking to multiplexes, especially car brands such as Mercedes, Jaguar and Audi. “In 2015, when the economy promises to be better, there are a lot of launches lined up and auto is going to be one interesting category for multiplexes,” says Mehta.

  • Q3-2015: Inox reports marked jump in F&B, Ad revenue

    Q3-2015: Inox reports marked jump in F&B, Ad revenue

    BENGALURU:  Inox Leisure Limited (Inox) reported 2.21 times PAT in Q3-2015 at Rs 14.30 crores (4.7 per cent of Total Revenues or TR) as compared to the PAT of Rs 6.47 crore (3 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter and 2.73 times the Rs 5.23 crore (2 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015, but PAT for 9M-2015 at Rs 24.10 crore (3 per cent of TR) was a steep 31.9 per cent lower than the Rs 35.40 crore (5.2 percent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) Inox acquired Satyam Cineplexes Limited (SCL) with 38 screens as a wholly owned subsidiary on 8 August 2014 and Q2-2015 and Q3-2015 figures in this report include the figures of SCL.

     

     

    Revenue streams

     

    Inox TR in Q3-2015 at Rs 304.85 crore was 41.2 per cent more than the Rs 215.83 crore in Q3-2014 and 14.3 per cent more than the Rs 266.66 crore in Q2-2015. TR for 9M-2015 at Rs 807.42 crore was 18.1 per cent more than the Rs 683.40 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Though Food and Beverages (F&B) and advertisement revenues (ad revenue) constitute just around 25 to 30 per cent of Inox TR, these two account heads have shown healthy 45.1 per cent and 98.4 per cent y-o-y  growth respectively in Q3-2015. Both these revenue heads have slowly and steadily started growing their contribution to Inox’s total revenue.

     

    F&B revenue grew to Rs 55.63 crore (18.2 percent of TR) from Rs 38.34 crore (17.8 percent of TIO) in Q3-2015 and grew 9.6 per cent from Rs 50.77 crore (19 per cent of TR) in the immediate trailing quarter. During 9M-2015, F&B revenue grew 22 per cent to Rs 156.30 crore (19.4 per cent of TR) from Rs 128.13 crore (18.7 percent of TR).

     

    Ad revenue in Q3-2015 grew to Rs 28.92 crore (9.5 per cent of TR) from Rs 14.58 crore (6.8 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and grew 62.4 per cent from Rs 17.81 crore (6.7 per cent of TR). During 9M-2015, ad revenue grew 84.6 per cent to Rs 61.7 crore (7.6 per cent of TR) from Rs 33.42 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) in the corresponding period of the previous year.

     

    ‘Other’ revenue in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.55 crore (6.1 per cent of TR) was 9.5 per cent lower than the Rs 20.50 crore (9.5 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 2.4 per cent more than the Rs 18.12 crore (6.8 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, ‘Other’ revenue at Rs 51.15 crore (6.3 per cent of TR) was 2.8 per cent more than the Rs 49.78 crore (7.3 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    Average Ticket Pricing

     

    Inox’s says that its average ticket price (ATP) in Q3-2015 was 175, in Q3-2014 it was Rs 163 and in Q2-2015 it was Rs 162. During 9M-2015, ATP was Rs 166 versus the Rs 157 in 9M-2014. The company claims that its ATP is higher than the exhibition industry’s comparable properties ATP of Rs 171 in Q3-2015, Rs 163 in Q3-2014, Rs 163 in 9M-2015 and Rs 157 in 9M-2014.

     

    Expenditure

     

    Inox total expenditure (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 254.44 crore (83.5 per cent of TR) was 35.8 per cent more than the Rs 187.36 crore (86.8 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 10.9 per cent more than the Rs 229.35 crore (86 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. TE during 9M-2015 increased 19.5 per cent to Rs 686.80 crore (85.1 per cent of TR) from Rs 574.86 crore (84.1 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Entertainment tax paid by the company increased 50.6 per cent to Rs 38.12 crore (12.5 per cent of TR) in Q3-2015 from Rs 25.31 crore (11.7 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and was 19.1 per cent more than the Rs 32 crore (12 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. During 9M-2015, Entertainment Tax paid by the company was 98.69 crores (12.2 per cent of TR), up 17.6 per cent from Rs 83.95 crore (12.3 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Inox Payroll cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.99 crore (6.2 per cent of TR) was 36.6 per cent more than the Rs 13.90 crore (6.4 per cent of TR) and 17.7 per cent more than the Rs 16.14 crore (6.1 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 payroll cost at Rs 48.83 crore (6.0 per cent of TR) was 31.1 per cent more than the Rs 37.24 crore (5.4 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Distributors share in Q3-2015 increased 38.3 per cent to Rs 75.37 crore (24.7 per cent of TR) from Rs 54.48 crore (25.2 per cent of TR) and was 11.1 per cent more than the Rs 67.81 crore (25.4 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. This expense head during 9M-2015 at Rs 201.58 crore (25 percent of TR) was 13.8 per cent more than the Rs 177.13 crore (25.9 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    F&B cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 13.58 crore (4.5 per cent of TR) was 28 per cent more than the Rs 10.61 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 1.6 per cent more than the Rs 13.58 crore (5 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. F&B cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 39.20 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) was 4.8 per cent more than the Rs 37.41 crore (5.5 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Other expenses in Q3-2015 at Rs 108.39 crore (35.6 per cent of TR) was 30.5 per cent more than the Rs 83.07 crore (38.5 percent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 8.4 percent more than the Rs 100.02 crore (35.6 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, other expense at Rs 298.51 crore (37 per cent of TR) was 24.8 per cent more than the Rs 239.12 crore (35 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Depreciation in Q3-2015 increased 57.2 per cent to Rs 20.44 crore (6.7 per cent of TR) from Rs 13 crore (6 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and increased 6.4 per cent from Rs 19.21 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 depreciation at Rs 5.74 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) was 52.3 per cent more than the Rs 37.92 crore (5.5 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    Inox’s interest cost in Q3-2015 was 88.7 per cent more at Rs 12.49 crore (4.1 per cent of TR) than the Rs 6.62 crore (3.1 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 9.6 per cent more than the Rs 11.40 crore (4.3 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015 Interest cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 30.34 crore (3.8 per cent of TR) was 41.6 per cent more than the Rs 21.43 crore (3.1 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Occupancy and Footfalls

     

    Inox says that it currently has 365 screens in 51 cities and 94 locations in India with a seating capacity of 97039 seats. It plans to increase the number of screens by 12 and seats by 2751 in Q4-2015. Post FY-2015, Inox says that it plans to add 169 screens with seating capacity of 36977 to take its overall total to 546 screens and 136766 seats.

     

    The company says that it has kept pace with the exhibition industry’s comparable properties occupancy rate to 27 per cent in Q3-2014 and 28 per cent in Q3-2015,during 9M-2015, it had the same occupancy rate of 27 per cent as the industry rate of 27 per cent. The company claims a higher footfall of 326 lakhs for 9M-2015 as compared to the industry’s comparable properties footfall of 276 lakh, a figure that has fallen from the 298 lakh footfalls experienced by the industry’s comparable in 9M-2014. Inox claims that the footfalls at its properties was 304 lakh in 9M-2014.

  • INOX makes third acquisition in a decade as it takes over Satyam chain of multiplexes

    INOX makes third acquisition in a decade as it takes over Satyam chain of multiplexes

    NEW DELHI: The total number of screens under the INOX umbrella has gone up to 514 screens in 127 properties in 64 cities after the acquisition of Satyam Cineplex for Rs 182 crore.

     

    INOX Leisure executed the transaction documents for acquisition of the New Delhi headquartered Satyam chain by way of acquiring 100 per cent equity share capital of Satyam from its existing shareholders, subject to closing.

     

    The proposed acquisition of one of the industry’s prime assets is a part of INOX’s strategy to expand its footprint across the country and gives INOX a significant foothold in the north Indian region.

     

    This marks the third acquisition for INOX in less than a decade. “Earlier, the company acquired Calcutta Cine in 2007, which triggered the consolidation phase in the multiplex industry. This was followed by the acquisition of Fame India in 2010,” INOX CEO Alok Tandon told indiantelevision.com.

     

    “The current acquisition would add 38 screens to INOX’s property,” he said.

     

    As INOX would be paying Rs 182 crore towards acquisition of these properties, the valuation of each screen works out to Rs 4.79 crore.

     

    He strongly denied charges that all multiplexes are highly priced, thus making them inaccessible to the average cinegoer. He said his group adopted what he called ‘flexi-pricing’ which allowed them to fix different rates for different days. Thus, the weekend may be expensive, but the price of the ticket on week-days starts from as low as Rs 55.

     

    Asked about creating a buzz about the new acquisitions, he said apart from press meets, print and social media would also be used to publicise the new takeover. 

     

    Earlier, Tandon said at a press meet, “We are looking forward to make this integration work positively for our stakeholders, INOX and Satyam employees as well as our guests. We look forward to a smooth merger of best practices of both the companies. We are excited and ready to bring in the best movie viewing experience to our guests in these multiplexes,” he added.

     

    INOX group director Deepak Asher said, “It has been our strategy to expand our multiplex business both organically and inorganically over the years. With this acquisition, we will strengthen our position further in the Industry as well as in the country, especially north India.”

     

    Sounding optimistic about the current acquisition, he went on to add, “Over the next few months, we will evaluate the full benefits of integration and consolidation, to drive competitive advantage across the value chain, and consider our strategic options in accordance with regulatory guidelines.”

     

    Satyam MD Deven Chachra said, “We have painstakingly built this business, and while it is hard to see that one has built with one’s own hands go, I have confidence and faith that INOX will nurture it and take it to greater heights.”

     

    Grant Thornton Advisory acted as sole financial advisors and Khaitan & Co acted as legal advisors to INOX Leisure. BMR Advisors acted as sole financial advisors and Luthra & Luthra Law Offices acted as legal advisors to the shareholders of Satyam Cineplexes.

  • Viacom18’s Supersonic makes debut in Candolim beach

    Viacom18’s Supersonic makes debut in Candolim beach

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has already established a foothold in the broadcast medium with its successful channels such as Colors, CNN-IBN etc. Going a step ahead, it has decided to imprint itself in the Electro Dance Music (EDM) segment of the country. Roping in DJ and VJ Nikhil Chinapa, the media company’s first EDM festival Supersonic has unleashed itself on the crowds thronging the tourist destination Goa.

    The five-day event, VH1 Supersonic, is being held at Candolim beach that has been till now known for India’s leading EDM festival Sunburn. Leading names such as Alvaro, Nikhil Chinapa, Benny Benassi, Above and Beyond, BT etc will be performing for the crowds that can also be live streamed on its YouTube site. Helming the whole project is former MTV VJ Nikhil Chinapa.

    Leading the sponsor list is Budweiser as the official sponsor along with Smirnoff, Van Heusen, Eveready, Inox, Vivanta, Gelato, Café Coffee Day etc. Ticket prices start at just Rs 1000 and go up to Rs 9500 for one person. The first day saw more than 5000 people attending the fest, according to the organisers.

    Supersonic and Sunburn were embroiled in a court issue regarding Candolim beach. “Candolim meets all the requirements to hold a festival of this scale, superb location on a white sand beach, great mix of luxury, boutique and budget hotels in a very safe environment. To top it all we were approached by the local partners who were keen to partner with us for the festival,” says INS sr VP and business head Jaideep Singh.

    As per sources it takes about Rs 3-5 crore to throw an EDM festival.

  • After Mumbai, Fame rebranding to Inox commences in Bengaluru

    After Mumbai, Fame rebranding to Inox commences in Bengaluru

    BENGALURU: After commencing rebranding of Fame screens in Mumbai to Inox, it is the garden city’s turn now. Of the 73 multiplexes and 284 screens across 40 cities that Inox boasts of, 25 multiplexes with 94 screens belonged to Fame India.

    Inox has launched an extensive marketing campaign across print, outdoor, radio and digital activations across cities which have multiplexes under the Fame brand name. The campaign is being handled by Lintas.

    Speaking on the brand change at one of the Inox theatre’s in Garuda Mall in Bengaluru, Inox Leisure Limited (Inox) CEO Alok Tandon said, “In a country where movies are a way of life, we are grossly under-screened. Inox has been on a steady expansion mode through organic as well as inorganic growth on its journey to its current leadership position. Our goal is to maintain our leadership position by continuing our sustained momentum of growth. As we announce the brand change from Fame to Inox, we will continue to provide the best movie going offering to our guests and emphasise on our tagline ‘Live the movie’ experience as the complete Inox experience.”

    “All Fame mutliplexes are now 100 per cent 2K digital and 3D enabled,” he added.
    “We expect to complete the Fame rebranding to Inox across all the screens acquired by us over the next one to one and a half months. To begin with the brand change will be experienced by guests in Mumbai and Bengaluru followed by Kolkata and the remaining cities in a phased manner,” revealed Tandon to indiantelevsion.com.

    Tandon expounded that despite producing about 1,000 movies a year, India had only 10 screens per 10 lakh people as compared to European countries which have 35 screens per 10 lakh people and the US which has 125 screens per 10 lakh people.

    As mentioned earlier, besides plans to expand into cities like Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Jalgaon, Madurai, Jamnagar and Manipal as also increase the existing number of multiplexes in places like Lucknow, Raipur and Surat., Tandon explained that Inox is open to acquisition route for expanding its screens.

     

     

  • Interactive Television introduces CAM for brands in India

    Interactive Television introduces CAM for brands in India

    Interactive Television (A WPP Group Company), one of the leading cinema advertising company which works with over 9,000 screens across India, has announced the launch of a third party monitoring tool – Cinema Audit Monitoring (CAM) which is being carried out in collaboration with Ipsos-media ct. This monitoring will be carried out in top eight cities covering 200 screens which contribute approximately 70 per cent of the cinema adex in a given week. The selected screens include key multiplex chains like PVR, Big Cinema, Cinemax, Inox, Fame, Fun, DT, SPI and Wave Cinemas.

     

    The country’s film entertainment industry is the largest in the world in terms of the number of films produced (approx. 900) and its theatrical admissions (approx. three billion).

     

    The film industry has evolved over time and technology has played a major role in the way cinema is presented to audiences in theaters. Movies which were previously released on just 200-300 screens are now screened in over 2,000 on day one. This has significantly improved the probability of every movie to make money and ensure profitability. The Rs 100 crore plus box office collections movie club has thus come into existence and is growing every year.

     

    The year 2012 was an exciting year for the Indian film industry with footfalls returning to the big screen. The domestic theatrical segment grew at a CAGR of 23.8 per cent y-o-y contributing 76 per cent to the Rs 112.4 billion film Industry and it is expected to continue its growth trajectory and be worth Rs 193.3 billion by 2017.

     

    According to Interactive Television founder and CEO Ajay Mehta, “Interactive’s proprietary tool CAM is a game changer for brands investing in cinema advertising in India. The results of the monthly audit will help our existing and potential clients recognise the growth opportunities for their brands whilst choosing cinema as an advertising medium. With this audit, we aim to provide transparency and visibility to our set of clients to assist them in result oriented media planning and buying.”

    Ajay Mehta believes Interactives proprietary tool CAM will be a game changer for brands investing in cinema advertising in India

     

    Cinema in India is big, but cinema advertising is not that great. Cinema advertising in India varies between Rs 200-250 crore; which is less than a per cent of the adex of overall media spends. Even UK has more than two per cent of their overall media industry, but India is not even one per cent claims Interactive Television’s report.

    The report goes on to explain: the key reason is that there is no monitoring system is in place. Because of which the clients always question the measurability and ROI of the medium and therefore are not sure if their ads are playing or not and thus remain wary of including cinema in their media plan. Interactive Television tackles this issue through its proprietary tool CAM as it claims.

     

    The findings of the first round of monitoring, which was conducted in August 2013, is already out. And the report captures all the brand ads screened before the movie and during the interval. It also includes the order in which they were played. The report also highlights the product categories, top spenders and their presence across eight cities.

     

    The other key information areas which this report includes are – total numbers of brands present in cinema during the audit period, occupancy details before and during interval, commercial duration, commercial position, number of times each ad was played, total number of ads being played and average number of ads played with big movies.

     

    CAM reporting will be done on a monthly basis and monitoring is done with big releases in that particular month. The August 2013 report indicates that the F&B category is leading in cinema, followed by personal care.

  • Fame is dead, long live Inox

    Fame is dead, long live Inox

    MUMBAI: In 2011, Inox’s takeover of Fame India made for headlines, while giving a fillip to the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Capital Partners and becoming the country’s biggest multiplex chain in the bargain.

    Two years later, change is finally happening. On Monday, 17 September the Fame website www.famecinemas.com ceased to exist, and is in the process of moving into the Inox website.

    All Fame properties will henceforth be called Inox. Also, a marketing campaign comprising print, outdoor and radio and spanning over two months has been kicked off to communicate the new name to people. As part of the campaign, there will be advertisements and inserts in a range of newspapers across cities that house Fame multiplexes. The value of marketing across 24 cities is pegged at approximately Rs 15-20 crore by industry sources. Similarly, Fame will undergo physical changes where the new logo of Inox will make its presence felt on tickets, popcorn cups and uniforms worn by the staff.

    About the acquisition, Inox Leisure CEO Alok Tandon said: “The good points of Fame and Inox have been put together. The first phase will see Mumbai experiencing the change this week, after which, Kolkata and Bengaluru are next with cities such as Pune, Panchkula and Dhanbad following suit.”

    Asked why it took two years for the renaming, Tandon said: “The acquisition got finalised only this year in May since we had to visit two courts (Baroda and Mumbai) in two states- . Only after that could we start our renaming process.”

    With 73 multiplexes and 284 screens across 40 cities; of which 25 multiplexes with 94 screens belong to Fame India, Inox is in a happy space. Maharashtra boasts the highest number of Inox multiplexes – 19 with 76 screens, followed by West Bengal with 13 multiplexes and 49 screens. Indeed, the last of Inox’s 73 multiplexes was added only yesterday, in Haryana, with nearly Rs 7-10 crore having gone into the setup. As things stand, Inox claims to attract over four crore movie goers annually.

    What’s more, plans are afoot to expand into cities like Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Jalgaon, Madurai, Jamnagar and Manipal as also increase the existing number of multiplexes in places like Lucknow, Raipur and Surat.

    To mark the change from Fame to Inox, a new ‘Feature Presentation Dater’ has been created, with sound designing by Oscar Award winning Resul Pookutty. “Our aim is to make the audience experience high fidelity,” says Pookutty, adding that an atmos version of the same is on the anvil.

    The question now remains whether Inox will continue to retain its Fame?