ITV

Tag: Kishore Lulla

  • 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 signs co-production deal with Turkish co Pana Film

    MUMBAI: Eros International Media, a global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, has announced two Indo­-Turkish co-productions with Pana Film, a leading Turkish film studio owned by Turkish actor Necati Sasmaz, known for playing the lead role of Polat Alemdar in Turkey’s television series Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves).

    With proposed actors from India and Turkey including Sasmaz, both films will be collaborative with shoot venues and crews in both countries and will be made bilingual. Original stories blending Indian and Turkish cultures will be conceptualised and developed by Eros’ in-house writers along with top Turkish writers.

    Eros International chairman Kishore Lulla said, “We are honored to associate with a company such as Pana Film. Following our Indo-China joint production initiatives, we continue to expand the scope of Indian films internationally with our exciting Turkish collaboration. With our similar cultures, we want to tell stories with a mainstream appeal that transcend language and geographical boundaries. We hope our Indo-Turkish productions will pave the way to open one of the significant regions in the world and reach out to fans across the two countries and the MENA (Middle East to North Africa) regions.”

    Sasmaz added, “Pana Film values this exciting partnership with Eros International. Our common goal is to build a cultural bridge between both regions. With our Indian collaboration, we aim to expand our presence and tell new stories that can bring Indian and Turkish audiences together.”

  • Eros’ Kishore Lulla wins ‘Entertainment Visionary’ award

    Eros’ Kishore Lulla wins ‘Entertainment Visionary’ award

    MUMBAI: Eros international executive chairman Kishore Lulla has bagged the Entertainment Visionary award at the 2015 Annual Gala Dinner organized by Asia Society Southern California on 20 June. Lulla was recognised for being a game changer as well as for his efforts in taking Bollywood to a global platform. The gala evening honoured Lulla’s quest to connect the Indian diaspora through films and bridging of cultures by introducing Bollywood to non-Indian audiences. 

     

    Lulla said, “It is an honour to be recognised by the reputed Asia Society Southern California and I’m grateful to my family, the Eros team, our associates, investors and the Indian film industry for their unstinted support. It continues to be a remarkable journey for us at Eros and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Asia Society in appreciating our endeavor to bring Indian cinema to the forefront globally.”

     

    Asia Society Southern California & of McLain Partners LLC chairman Thomas McLain added, “Kishore Lulla is much more than a head of a successful film studio, who controls 40 per cent of the Hindi language film market in India; he’s also a philanthropist who is seeking to bring 250 million Indian children out of poverty through his educational initiatives and a visionary who is promoting equality for women in the workplace in India. His personal story of starting his business in Israel and Germany inspired all, and at the same time he kept the audience laughing with his great sense of humor. Kishore’s goals are synonymous with those of the Asia Society – we are both building bridges between the East and West through education, culture and business initiatives.”

     

    “We are thrilled to honour Kishore with the Entertainment Visionary Award, for taking Bollywood global and blazing paths to build Eros International into an integrated, worldwide media company, Kishore epitomizes Asia Society’s mission of forging understanding between Asia and the world, as well as among Asians, by championing the power of popular culture,” said Society Southern California executive director Jonathan Karp Asia.

  • Eros to propel digital play in July with campaign; defers Pay TV strategy

    Eros to propel digital play in July with campaign; defers Pay TV strategy

    MUMBAI: Indian entertainment company Eros International Plc is betting big on digital play with its over the top (OTT) platform ErosNow. Come July and the company will unveil its exclusive movie line-up as well as original shows on the platform.

     

    In order to push its offerings on ErosNow, the company will launch a marketing campaign around its movie premieres (pre-television, post-theatrical window), as well as original shows.

     

    What’s more, Eros has deferred its plans to launch pay TV channels as was planned earlier and will instead focus on strengthening its position in the OTT arena. The company had plans to launch a Hindi movie channel and a music channel.

     

    Even as the company’s television licensing revenues continue to be strong on the back of digitization and constitutes over 35 per cent of its revenues; in the light of its new focus on its OTT space, Eros’ strategy will be to premiere films on ErosNow and then syndicate them to television channels around the world after that window closes.

     

    In FY-2015, digital and ancillary segments of the company contributed revenues of $59.9 million as compared to $47.7 million in FY-2014. The company’s other two primary revenue streams theatrical and television syndication contributed revenue of $123.1 million and $101.2 million respectively in FY-2015 as compared to $107.5 million and $80.3 million respectively in FY-2014.

     

    Eros International managing director and CEO Jyoti Deshpande said, “Our pre-launch phase of ErosNow has been very successful with 19 million registered users globally, up 35.7 per cent from the 14 million users we announced in February 2015. We believe the combination of being an early mover, our unique studio assets, and the high market share of our extensive library positions us to be the leading player in the Indian digital entertainment industry.”

     

    Eros International reported 20.7 per cent growth in revenue to $284.3 million in FY-2015 (year ended 31 March, 2015) as compared to the $235.5 million in the previous year. Currency comparable revenues increased by 22.4 per cent.

     

    For the quarter ended 31 March, 2015 (Q4-2015), the company reported 39.8 per cent (currency comparable revenues increased by 40.7 per cent) revenue growth to $88.5 million as compared to the $63.3 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Eros reported 32.9 per cent increment in net income to $49.3 million in FY-2015 from the $37.1 million in FY-2014. Net income in Q4-2015 more than tripled (3.01 times) the $19.4 million as compared to the $6.4 million in Q4-2014.

     

    Deshpande added, “Our fourth quarter and full year results demonstrate the strength and scalability of our business, our dominant leadership position and our ability to capitalize on the growing and underpenetrated Indian media, entertainment and digital industry.”

     

    “Our growth from non-Diaspora international markets shows a growing appetite for Bollywood content in many new markets. One of our strongest potential markets, China, with a market size of $4.8 billion and over 23,600 screens, is projected to soon surpass Hollywood as the largest film market in the world. Our latest collaboration agreements with Chinese Film Corp and Shanghai Film Group to co-produce and distribute Sino-Indian films are important steps in maximizing our opportunity in China.”

     

    Eros’ television syndication revenue remained strong in fiscal year 2015, with an over 50 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter, with high and medium budget films helping Eros syndicate attractive bundles of new and library films.

     

    Eros group executive chairman Kishore Lulla said, “By creating the first studio model in India and achieving 20 times growth in the last ten years to now over $100 million in adjusted EBITDA, Eros has successfully completed its first pioneering effort in transforming the Indian film industry and becoming its global leader. Looking forward, our goal now is to pioneer yet again using the strength of our films and our exciting ErosNow platform to become the leading Indian digital entertainment company globally.”

  • Eros names Prem Parameswaran as group CFO & president – North America

    Eros names Prem Parameswaran as group CFO & president – North America

    MUMBAI: Prem Parameswaran has been appointed as the group chief financial officer of Eros International, Plc and president – North America, a newly created position.

     

    Parameswaran will succeed Andrew Heffernan as group CFO, who will be taking a leave of absence from the company in June.

     

    Parameswaran joins Eros with over 23 years of experience in investment banking, advising clients in the global telecommunications, media and technology sector, including on mergers and acquisitions and public and private equity and debt financing.

     

    Eros executive chairman Kishore Lulla said, “Our company is at an important point in its growth trajectory with the increasing popularity of Indian entertainment content, evolution of technology and dynamic transformation of the Indian economy underway. With his impressive background in finance, mergers and acquisitions and operational strategy, Prem has the knowledge, relationships and global perspective that will be very valuable as we continue our growth around the world and optimize our capital structure. We look forward to his valuable contributions to our strategy and tapping into his relationships to extend our reach with the financial community and potential partners.”

     

    Parameswaran added, “Over the course of my career, I have seen first-hand a number of media and entertainment businesses on the verge of exponential growth, and I believe Eros is one of those kinds of companies. Eros’ incredibly valuable and growing content library, its dominant market share position in one of the fastest growing markets in the world, its burgeoning digital distribution platform ErosNow, and its very talented and experienced management team are the elements that I believe make this a compelling company. This is an ideal situation where I can bring my experience, relationships and financial background into a well-established company and help drive additional growth and create value for its shareholders. I am excited to get started and look forward to working with the team to achieve great things.”

     

    Parameswaran most recently served as the global head of media and telecommunications investment banking at Jefferies LLC. Prior to Jefferies, he was the Americas head of media & telecom at Deutsche Bank. He has also previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers.

     

    Lulla added, “I want to thank Andrew for the important role he has played in the development of our company to date. His insight, experience and understanding of our business has helped us hugely.”

     

    Heffernan said, “During my time with Eros, the company has experienced significant growth in revenues and its film slate and the launch of its digital distribution platform. I look forward to the company continuing to capitalize on its potential to expand further in one of the fastest growing media markets in the world.”

  • Relativity Media & B4U forge broad partnership

    Relativity Media & B4U forge broad partnership

    MUMBAI: Another large US independent global film and TV production studio-cum-distributor-cum financier is making its way into India. At least it has announced its intentions to do so. The Ryan Kavanaugh headed Relativity Media – which has 200 Hollywood films with a claimed box office revenue of $17 billion worldwide- has chosen to partner with steel baron Lakshmi Mittal-Kishore Lulla-Gokul Binani -backed B4U in a joint venture.  The announcement was made in Cannes by Kavanaugh and B4U CEO Ishan Saksena just as the week was ending and the Cannes Film Festival was going past the half way mark.

     

    The joint venture will – according to a press release – “leverage their combined expertise, relationships and resources to create and distribute highly-engaging long and short form entertainment and sports content in India that will span a variety of mediums including film, television and digital.”

     

    It clearly elucidates what the duo will do through the new initiative:

     

    ·Distribute future Relativity films and other select entertainment content in India and the surrounding regions

    ·Co-finance, co-produce and distribute Indian language films and television shows as well as acquire projects in the U.S. and Indian markets

    ·Distribute third-party content in India and select Bollywood films in the U.S.

    ·Create and launch a new pay television channel in India focused on Hollywood content in both English and Hindi

    ·Launch RelaTV– a digital streaming technology platform to deliver compelling short and long form content to Indian consumers

    ·Co-produce a slate of Hollywood films including The Best of Me

     

    Around $100 million will be available to the joint venture to roll out its ambitions.

     

    But Hollywood-Bollywood collaborations have not been something to write home about. UTV tried to forge partnerships with Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment and with M Night Shyamalan but did not get too far. Reliance Entertainment’s partnership with Dreamworks has done reasonably well. The YRF Entertainment co-produced  – withPierre-Ange Le Pogam and writer Arash Amel – Grace of Monaco premiered at the Cannes Film Festival  last week, but has got scathing reviews as being poorly directly and scripted.

     

    Both Kavanaugh and Saksena believe their coming together will be fruitful. Says Kavanaugh:  “This strategic partnership represents an exciting opportunity for Relativity to significantly expand our presence in this vibrant and growing marketplace while creating a bridge for developing and sharing content between Hollywood and Bollywood.”

     

    “By 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country, and its citizens are adopting new technology platforms  – from smartphones to smart TVs – at a dramatic rate. Thejoint venture positions us well to deliver enthralling content across rapidly emerging distribution channels.”

     

    Added Saksena: “B4U has always been at the helm for delivering Bollywood content in India and internationally.  This joint venture with Relativity is the natural step in our progression to build a creative film studio and unique technology platform.  Our joint venture provides a platform to bring the best of Relativity’s intellectual property, production skills, and unique monetizing strategies to India, while also providing Indian talent access to global audiences.”

     

    The $100 million fund will be under Saksena’s management who is reportedely close to Mittal’s son-in-law Amit Bhatia and is a managing director at  the latter’s  investment company Swordfish Investments. He worked very closely with Bhatia and helped him turn around the Queens Park Rangers football club in 2010.

     

    Thanks to Lulla’s involvement with B4U, the joint venture is likely to have access to the Eros International’s  large Hindi film catalogue – probably the largest for Indian films. Which should help it build up the pay television channel  and streaming media service – RelaTV – for India along with Relativity Media’s slate  of films and TV shows. Lulla has in recent times forged alliances with HBO for two local pay TV channels – HBO Hits and HBO defined – and with Endemol for production of films in India.

     

    Saksena – who has had experience managing Queens’ Parks Rangers – will in all probability be bringing all that to bear on the sports side as he tries to get the best expertise out of Relativity Sports.

  • Case against Sanjay Leela, Censor Board Chief

    Case against Sanjay Leela, Censor Board Chief

    NEW DELHI: The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow, has sought report by 8 December from the Station Officer, Gomti Nagar, regarding social activist Nutan Thakur’s case for registration of FIR against Kishore Lulla, producer, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, director of Goliyon ki Raasleela: Ram Leela and Leela Samson, Censor Board Chairperson.

     

    As per the complaint, this title was given despite specific order of the Allahabad High Court in a previous case filed by her where the Court had said that religious sensitivity needs to be addressed.

     

    Later the Censor Board under Samson passed this film despite knowledge of orders of Allahabad High Court in Vinod Shanker Misra case where Court had regarded use of word Raasleela as hurting the sentiments of Hindus, a fact which was proved when the High Court banned this film in UP, saying that its title hurt the Hindu sentiments.

     

    Based on these facts, Thakur had presented an FIR before the Police and approached the Court when the police refused to register the FIR.

  • Allahabad High Court declines to act on Bhansalis Ramleela as it has not been certified

    Allahabad High Court declines to act on Bhansalis Ramleela as it has not been certified

    The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has said it is not appropriate to pass any directions to the Central Board of Film Certification at this stage because the Board has not taken any decision on the matter so far.

     

    The Bench of Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya said the film has not yet been certified for public exhibition as required under Section 4 of the Cinematograph Act 1952 and hence the process of certification has not yet concluded.

     

    It said that at the time when CBFC examines the film for issuing certificate for public exhibition, it is expected that the Board will act in accordance with the provision of Cinematograph Act and other related laws.

     

    The Court order came on a writ petition against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Ramleela on allegations that the title has religious connotations and hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus.

     

    Social activist Nutan Thakur said in the petition that the film slated for release on 15 November calls itself Ramleela of bullets. The official trailer of the film “shows abusive language and intimate scenes between Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone which are far away from the religious connotation the word ‘Ramleela’ carries”.

     

    The petitioner had prayed for immediate change of the name of the film and banning of Promos or non-grant of a certificate by the CBFC if the producer does not do so.

     

    Directed by Bhansali and produced by him and Kishore Lulla (Eros International), the film is loosely based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but set in violent times. It stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Supriya Pathak, Richa Chadha, and Priyanka Chopra as guest artiste in an item number.
    Bhansali has said he is paying an ode to his mother’s name with this film.

  • ‘Go Goa Gone’ gets notice from National Commission for Women on obscene song

    ‘Go Goa Gone’ gets notice from National Commission for Women on obscene song

    NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Women has issued notice to the producers of the Saif Ali Khan starrer Go Goa Gone, raising objections in the song ‘Slowly Slowly‘ for using "offensive, abusive words including whore."

    The notice sent last week has sought a reply within 10 days about the action taken following the complaint by the NCW. The complaint was initially received by the Women and Child Development Ministry and thereafter forwarded to the Commission.

    The notice has been sent to Eros International CEO Kishore Lulla, Illuminati and Films Pvt Ltd founders Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan asking them to ensure that the ‘offensive‘ song is immediately deleted from the film and banned from public broadcast."

    The Commission was told the song is "offensive and contains lyrics that encourage violence against women. It also contains veiled references to drug abuse through language that is particularly used as code for certain drugs.‘‘

  • Eros gets back Jyoti Deshpande as Group CEO & MD

    Eros gets back Jyoti Deshpande as Group CEO & MD

    MUMBAI: Eros Group has reappointed Jyoti Deshpande as its chief executive officer and managing director.

    Deshpande had gone a sabbatical from 1 January 2011.

    Kishore Lulla, currently chairman and CEO of Eros International plc, will revert to his previous role of executive chairman.

    Lulla said, “The Board of Eros welcomes Jyoti back with open arms. She has been an instrumental part of our growth story and is ideally placed to take the company to new heights.”

    Deshpande will also be appointed as executive director of Eros International Media.

    “Eros has played a significant part in my life for well over a decade and I am delighted to recommence my tenure as Group CEO & MD. I am looking forward to picking up where I left off and excited about continuing a successful journey with Eros,” Deshpande said.