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  • Sony Le Plex HD launches; destination for acclaimed & blockbuster movie titles

    Sony Le Plex HD launches; destination for acclaimed & blockbuster movie titles

    MUMBAI: Movie buffs are in for a treat as folks at Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) have come up with a premium fun hangout place for Hollywood film lovers. Called Sony Le Plex HD, the channel will be a house to not just from mainstream Hollywood movies but also acclaimed movies. With the brand tagline #WhereYouBelong, the channel is aimed at providing true plex experience on television.

    The channel went live on 23 August.

    SPN already has a English movie channel Sony Pix. After a 3-4 month long research, the network saw a clear need gap wherein the viewers were underserved with acclaimed movie titles. The differentiator amongst the two channels apart from their unique product packaging is unique content properties providing a clear audience demarcation between the two.

    According to SPN India English cluster EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik, what lacks in the industry is clear distinctions between Hollywood loyalists and casonava. He says, “The two channels have different boundaries true to the consumers need gap. As viewers were not able to watch their loved movies, we thought about coming out with a perfect solution. Building a channel is not just about great titles. There also is a need to build conversations around the product so as to build a brand in mind.”

    Apart from securing deals with existing production studios, this new channel has first output deals with Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, PVR and Lionsgate.

    Sony Le PLEX boasts of 400 plus movie titles that include 200 award winning movies. In their Le Premiere slot, one can catch 52 premieres in 52 weeks of the year with one on every Sunday at 9 pm. The other slots of the channel are The Magicians slot which will showcase the movies and the magic that happens behind the camera of critically acclaimed movies such as The Inglourious Basterds, Schindler’s List, Taxi Driver, Gladiator, Philadelphia and many more.

    The Noon Show which will air movies every Monday to Friday at 1 pm, 9 o’talk aimed at inspiring conversations through listicles. 12 listicles inspired themes will connect the common elements amongst the uncommon audiences driven by a distinguished anchor. And, other spots like The Night Show and Love That Scene.

    “The growth of Hollywood cinema in India has resulted in segmentation of audiences into two distinct categories. One, being the mainstream cinema offering action and special effects movies, while the other is the non-mainstream cinema that focuses on the storyline, plot and the acclaim of the movie. The market for non-mainstream cinema is currently underserved in our country and Sony Le Plex HD aims to cater and own this segment. The channel will not only showcase critically acclaimed films but also build an ambience around them in a way that enables great conversations and will help create a common ground for people to build a community of quality movie lovers,” says Yagnik.

    Zoya Akhtar has been roped in as the community ambassador for the Sony Le Plex community. Akhtar will be talking about few premieres and will build the community. The key premieres will have conversations with her. Her role will be to reach out to all movie lovers and build a tribe that appreciates good cinema. Akhtar will also be seen actively engaging with movie buffs across various social media platforms owned by the channel.

    “Zoya represents contemporary style of filmmaking and have made beautiful movies. She is relatable with our brand and people look at out for her work. We needed a person who can create communities. She is a movies buff and loves conversation around movies. Her persona and the way we perceive our brand have many things in common,” adds the channel head.

    “Great movies and great storytelling is what I constantly chase and this is exactly what Sony Le Plex HD has to offer. It’s that perfect space where movie lovers, including me, can interact with each other over their favourite Hollywood movies. Sony Le Plex HD has an exhaustive list of quality and acclaimed films and the top three that come to my mind are Foxcatcher – which is awesome, Spotlight which is an academy award winner and Ex Machina. The channel is not just about showcasing great movies but will also create a community of movie lovers who will drive great conversations around movies. I am glad to be the Community Ambassador for Sony Le Plex HD and co-create this community of people like me who simply love watching good movies. It is indeed the perfect hangout for all movie lovers,” adds Akhtar.

    The channel is targeted on Hollywood loyalists which they classify to be dreamers, achievers, geeks, artists, etc and certainly don’t have any age boundaries. It is for premium audiences which are young at heart. The channel’s logo has been designed by MediaLuna while Leo Burnett is their creative agency partner.

    SPN rolled out this channel in HD feed because according to them there has been significant price elasticity in country. The audiences are not used to paying for content yet. But the fact that India always works on inflection point between affordability and consumption cannot be neglected. Yagnik opines that SD is about size and scale that you have to build. Its distribution has to be wider which the market needs to support. “There are certain considerations that are to be taken before launching a SD channel. The loyalists can move to SD later on. We had to come up with a differentiator in HD,” adds Yagnik.

    With this channel, Sony plans to cater to the 7 million odd HD subscribers in the country.

    The channel has almost been rolled out on DTH platforms like Airtel, Tata Sky, etc and cable TV services.

    As far as the marketing is concerned, the channel will be marketed extensively in the top 6 metros with various promotions on their own HD network on tv and will leverage print as well as social media to build the channel.

    The channel is already in talks with few premium brands to hop on board for the channel and has a separate sales team in place for the same. “Ideally revenue generation from advertisers and subscription should be 50:50. Though, it depends on the various channels as they are bundled with different networks. But, if you talk about Sony Le Plex HD, we would like to generate revenue more from the subscription than advertisers. For now the hybrid business model is working properly for us,” adds Yagnik.

    If guesstimations are to be believed, the channel will be priced high due to its unique offering at around Rs 50.

    Though, Sony Pix and Sony Le Plex HD will not have same titles, there is a possibility to have simulcasts for a few movies.

    With an array of Hollywood movie channels being launched by various networks, one conclusion that we can arrive at is that there is a clear-cut consumption of English content. The increasing number of schools providing English education, high box office collections, social media conversations, etc clearly shows significant potential for English in India.

    SPN, with this new addition, has a total of approx 700 movie titles under their umbrella. Looking at the current consumption, the English entertainment genre is only going to grow and expand in the coming years.

  • Paytm moves aggressively into movie ticketing

    Paytm moves aggressively into movie ticketing

    MUMBAI: Paytm reported more than a lakh movie tickets, reflecting the huge potential of the online movie ticketing industry in India. This significant milestone has been crossed by Paytm within four months of launch of the movie ticketing business. In a massive effort to encourage digital payments in India, the company’s foray into the entertainment space has been warmly welcomed by the movie industry across the value chain comprising exhibitors, distributors and production houses. Leveraging Paytm’s existing ecosystem of over 130 million users, Paytm has set itself aggressive numbers in the months ahead.

    One of the key reasons for the significant initial success of Paytm in the movie-ticketing domain has been the Pan India availability of movie screens on its platform. Currently, Paytm has over 2250 screens for which tickets can be booked online. This number will increase to 3000 screens in the coming months. Paytm’s list of tie-ups in the movie industry includes PVR, Cinepolis, Inox, Wave, Miraj, MovieTime, Gold Cinemas and multiple other chains & single screen theatres.

    Speaking on this, Paytm VP Renu Setti said, “In just about four months since the launch of movie ticketing, Paytm is well on its way to become the country’s favorite mode of booking movie tickets. We are very pleased at the encouraging response to our efforts to serve the millions of movie lovers in India. Paytm will also bring offline single screens on its platform over a period of time. This will take the reach of Paytm deeper and further in this space, and also aid the theater owners in filling up seats.”

  • Paytm moves aggressively into movie ticketing

    Paytm moves aggressively into movie ticketing

    MUMBAI: Paytm reported more than a lakh movie tickets, reflecting the huge potential of the online movie ticketing industry in India. This significant milestone has been crossed by Paytm within four months of launch of the movie ticketing business. In a massive effort to encourage digital payments in India, the company’s foray into the entertainment space has been warmly welcomed by the movie industry across the value chain comprising exhibitors, distributors and production houses. Leveraging Paytm’s existing ecosystem of over 130 million users, Paytm has set itself aggressive numbers in the months ahead.

    One of the key reasons for the significant initial success of Paytm in the movie-ticketing domain has been the Pan India availability of movie screens on its platform. Currently, Paytm has over 2250 screens for which tickets can be booked online. This number will increase to 3000 screens in the coming months. Paytm’s list of tie-ups in the movie industry includes PVR, Cinepolis, Inox, Wave, Miraj, MovieTime, Gold Cinemas and multiple other chains & single screen theatres.

    Speaking on this, Paytm VP Renu Setti said, “In just about four months since the launch of movie ticketing, Paytm is well on its way to become the country’s favorite mode of booking movie tickets. We are very pleased at the encouraging response to our efforts to serve the millions of movie lovers in India. Paytm will also bring offline single screens on its platform over a period of time. This will take the reach of Paytm deeper and further in this space, and also aid the theater owners in filling up seats.”

  • Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    MUMBAI: Rajini Sir has proved lucky for them. Over the weekend, low cost carrier Air Asia announced the names of three fans who will be given a ticket each to fly to Bangkok and Kaula Lumpur and visit the location where Rajinikanth’s latest film Kabali has been shot. It also announced the names of 10 fans who came out tops in the Air Asia Kabali Video Contest thus winning first day first show tickets to the movie.

    The Air AsiaKabali Video Contest commenced last month and entrants had to film themselves mouthing Rajani’s dialogues from Neruppa Da and upload the videos. Kabali has Rajinikanth playing a underworld Don who fights for Tamils in Malaysia.

    However, the video contest was just one of the initiatives that Air Asia innovated along with Kabali producer-director Kalaipuli S Thanu’s V. Creations. The official airline association deal that the two signed has set a benchmark for film promotion and marketing in India – at least.

    For the last fortnight or so, Air Asia passengers between Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Vizag and Kochi, have been greeted by a special aircraft as they have walked on to the tarmac. The plane has the salt and pepper haired Rajinikanth splattered all over the exterior of the aircraft.

    Come 22 July, the A-320 aircraft (which took about a month to design) will be flying exclusively between Bengaluru and Chennai. Passengers boarding the aircraft will be given Kabali memorabilia which includes T-Shirts and mugs, audio CDs and even tickets. They will also be able to munch a special Rajinikanth meal. Other merchandise that has been created to coincide with the film’s upcoming release includes: silver coins with the superstar’s image embossed on it and brought out by the Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group. A Kabali Rajinikanth doll has also been designed by the producer and is being sold at Rs 999.

    Air Asia, on its part, has disclosed that it will continue to fly the special Rajini aircraft much after the film’s release as a tribute to the thespian actor. The film features the veteran actor taking Air Asia flights on several occasions.

    Apart from Air Asia, Kabali’s producer V.Creations has snared tieups with Mondelez for chocolates, PVR Cinemas for multiplexes, Airtel for mobile, Muthoot FinCorp for finance, VS Hospitals for health, Amazon for merchandise, and Emami for healthcare products.

    The brand that Mondelez has chosen for the partnership is 5 Star. Special TVCs featuring the goofy brothers Ramesh and Suresh promoting Kabali have been created and have been running on social media and on television. Advertising panels on buses in Tamil Nadu touting the film with the tagline SuperStar ka 5 star and Superstar in 5 Star. Buses with LED panels screening Kabali trailers, teasers, songs have taken part in road shows covering colleges, schools and malls. The chocolate maker has also put out 18,000 cutouts promoting the film and 5 Star nationally in retail outlets and at the point of sale.

    Keychains, posters, T-shirts, mugs, posters, the Kabali Rajinikanth doll are to be sold on the ecommerce platform as part of its partnership with Amazon.

    Like other partners, the media partners agreed to extend the promotional period when the film release date was extended from 1 July to 15 July to 22 July.

    Apart from Rajinikanth, the film stars Attakathi Dinesh, John Vijay, Dhanika, Koshire, Roshan, Nassar and Winston Cho along with Radhika Apte. Helming it is the young but successful director P.A. Ranjith.

    Estimates are that the valuation of the various tieups that Kabali has managed is in the region of Rs 70-80 crore. The film’s makers are targeting a box office revenue of Rs 500 crore for the film which was made at a budget of around Rs 80 crore.

    It is slated to be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Thai, Chinese and Japanese. Broadcast, audio, dubbing, digital and overseas rights sales had already netted close to Rs 150 crore for V. Creations. The Hindi version of the film is being distributed by FoxStar Studios India and is expected to debut1,000 screens nationally. In the US, distributor CineGalaxy has lined up a 400 cinema hall release. The sourthern market is expected to see a release in about 2,000 screens even as Kabali is released simultaneously in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Rajinikanth’s previous two films Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan did not do as well as expected at the box office. And questions were being asked whether Thalaivar is a bankable star. If the push that has been being given to Kabali courtesy its marketing tieups gets the cash registers ringing, the critics and naysayers will have been silenced.

  • Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    MUMBAI: Rajini Sir has proved lucky for them. Over the weekend, low cost carrier Air Asia announced the names of three fans who will be given a ticket each to fly to Bangkok and Kaula Lumpur and visit the location where Rajinikanth’s latest film Kabali has been shot. It also announced the names of 10 fans who came out tops in the Air Asia Kabali Video Contest thus winning first day first show tickets to the movie.

    The Air AsiaKabali Video Contest commenced last month and entrants had to film themselves mouthing Rajani’s dialogues from Neruppa Da and upload the videos. Kabali has Rajinikanth playing a underworld Don who fights for Tamils in Malaysia.

    However, the video contest was just one of the initiatives that Air Asia innovated along with Kabali producer-director Kalaipuli S Thanu’s V. Creations. The official airline association deal that the two signed has set a benchmark for film promotion and marketing in India – at least.

    For the last fortnight or so, Air Asia passengers between Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Vizag and Kochi, have been greeted by a special aircraft as they have walked on to the tarmac. The plane has the salt and pepper haired Rajinikanth splattered all over the exterior of the aircraft.

    Come 22 July, the A-320 aircraft (which took about a month to design) will be flying exclusively between Bengaluru and Chennai. Passengers boarding the aircraft will be given Kabali memorabilia which includes T-Shirts and mugs, audio CDs and even tickets. They will also be able to munch a special Rajinikanth meal. Other merchandise that has been created to coincide with the film’s upcoming release includes: silver coins with the superstar’s image embossed on it and brought out by the Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group. A Kabali Rajinikanth doll has also been designed by the producer and is being sold at Rs 999.

    Air Asia, on its part, has disclosed that it will continue to fly the special Rajini aircraft much after the film’s release as a tribute to the thespian actor. The film features the veteran actor taking Air Asia flights on several occasions.

    Apart from Air Asia, Kabali’s producer V.Creations has snared tieups with Mondelez for chocolates, PVR Cinemas for multiplexes, Airtel for mobile, Muthoot FinCorp for finance, VS Hospitals for health, Amazon for merchandise, and Emami for healthcare products.

    The brand that Mondelez has chosen for the partnership is 5 Star. Special TVCs featuring the goofy brothers Ramesh and Suresh promoting Kabali have been created and have been running on social media and on television. Advertising panels on buses in Tamil Nadu touting the film with the tagline SuperStar ka 5 star and Superstar in 5 Star. Buses with LED panels screening Kabali trailers, teasers, songs have taken part in road shows covering colleges, schools and malls. The chocolate maker has also put out 18,000 cutouts promoting the film and 5 Star nationally in retail outlets and at the point of sale.

    Keychains, posters, T-shirts, mugs, posters, the Kabali Rajinikanth doll are to be sold on the ecommerce platform as part of its partnership with Amazon.

    Like other partners, the media partners agreed to extend the promotional period when the film release date was extended from 1 July to 15 July to 22 July.

    Apart from Rajinikanth, the film stars Attakathi Dinesh, John Vijay, Dhanika, Koshire, Roshan, Nassar and Winston Cho along with Radhika Apte. Helming it is the young but successful director P.A. Ranjith.

    Estimates are that the valuation of the various tieups that Kabali has managed is in the region of Rs 70-80 crore. The film’s makers are targeting a box office revenue of Rs 500 crore for the film which was made at a budget of around Rs 80 crore.

    It is slated to be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Thai, Chinese and Japanese. Broadcast, audio, dubbing, digital and overseas rights sales had already netted close to Rs 150 crore for V. Creations. The Hindi version of the film is being distributed by FoxStar Studios India and is expected to debut1,000 screens nationally. In the US, distributor CineGalaxy has lined up a 400 cinema hall release. The sourthern market is expected to see a release in about 2,000 screens even as Kabali is released simultaneously in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Rajinikanth’s previous two films Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan did not do as well as expected at the box office. And questions were being asked whether Thalaivar is a bankable star. If the push that has been being given to Kabali courtesy its marketing tieups gets the cash registers ringing, the critics and naysayers will have been silenced.

  • FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    BENGALURU: Indian motion picture exhibition, production and distribution house PVR Limited (PVR) reported more than nine-fold (9.3 times) profit after tax (PAT) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year, current fiscal) as compared to the previous fiscal FY-15. The company reported PAT of Rs 118.73 crore (6.3 percent margin of consolidated Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to PAT of Rs 12.76 crore (0.9 percent PAT margin of TIO). For fiscal FY-14, the company had reported PAT of Rs 50.39 crore (3.7 PAT margin of TIO).

    PVR’s consolidated TIO in the current year increased 26.5 percent to Rs 1,873.54 crore as compared to Rs 1,481.34 crore in FY-15. TIO plus other income in FY-16 increased 27.1 percent to Rs 1,896.99 crore from Rs 1,485.98 crore in FY-15.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    PVR’s total operating profit including other income (EBIDTA) in FY-16 increased 70.8 percent to Rs 358.09 crore (18.9 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) as compared to Rs 209.67 crore (14.1 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) in the previous year.

    Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 19.5 percent to Rs 1,664.09 crore (88.8 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 1,393.11 crore (13.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Film Exhibition cost increased 22.4 percent to Rs 418.96 crore (23.4 percent of TIO) in FY-16 from Rs 324.18 crore (23.1 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in the current year increased 29.5 percent to Rs 185.30 crore (9.9 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 143.04 crore (9.7 percent of TIO).Other expenses in FY-16 increased 30.9 percent to Rs 212.29 crore (11.3 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 162.21 crore (11 percent of TIO) in the previous fiscal. Food & Beverages and other costs increased 16.3 percent to Rs 124.83 crore (6.7 percent of TIO) from Rs 107.38 crore (7.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

    Segment Revenue

    Three segments contribute to PVR’s revenues.

    The largest segment – Movie Exhibition reported 26.3 percent growth in operating revenue in FY-16 at Rs 1,730.09 crore from Rs 1,370.39 crore in the previous year. The segment reported more than double operating profit 2.34 times) of Rs 206.51 crore in the current fiscal as compared to Rs 88.23 crore in the FY-15

    Movie Production and Distribution segment reported 59.1 percent growth in FY-16 at Rs 81.50 crore as compared to Rs 51.23 crore in FY-15. The segment’s operating profit in the current year increased 5.1 percent to Rs 2.88 crore from Rs 2.74 crore in FY-15.

    PVR’s ‘Other’ segment which includes bowling, gaming and restaurant services reported 3.9 percent increase in revenue in FY-16 at Rs 76.85 crore as compared to Rs 73.96 crore in the previous fiscal. The segment reported operating profit of Rs 0.1 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 2.80 crore in FY-15.

    The board of directors of PVR have approved a dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each

  • FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    BENGALURU: Indian motion picture exhibition, production and distribution house PVR Limited (PVR) reported more than nine-fold (9.3 times) profit after tax (PAT) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year, current fiscal) as compared to the previous fiscal FY-15. The company reported PAT of Rs 118.73 crore (6.3 percent margin of consolidated Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to PAT of Rs 12.76 crore (0.9 percent PAT margin of TIO). For fiscal FY-14, the company had reported PAT of Rs 50.39 crore (3.7 PAT margin of TIO).

    PVR’s consolidated TIO in the current year increased 26.5 percent to Rs 1,873.54 crore as compared to Rs 1,481.34 crore in FY-15. TIO plus other income in FY-16 increased 27.1 percent to Rs 1,896.99 crore from Rs 1,485.98 crore in FY-15.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    PVR’s total operating profit including other income (EBIDTA) in FY-16 increased 70.8 percent to Rs 358.09 crore (18.9 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) as compared to Rs 209.67 crore (14.1 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) in the previous year.

    Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 19.5 percent to Rs 1,664.09 crore (88.8 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 1,393.11 crore (13.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Film Exhibition cost increased 22.4 percent to Rs 418.96 crore (23.4 percent of TIO) in FY-16 from Rs 324.18 crore (23.1 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in the current year increased 29.5 percent to Rs 185.30 crore (9.9 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 143.04 crore (9.7 percent of TIO).Other expenses in FY-16 increased 30.9 percent to Rs 212.29 crore (11.3 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 162.21 crore (11 percent of TIO) in the previous fiscal. Food & Beverages and other costs increased 16.3 percent to Rs 124.83 crore (6.7 percent of TIO) from Rs 107.38 crore (7.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

    Segment Revenue

    Three segments contribute to PVR’s revenues.

    The largest segment – Movie Exhibition reported 26.3 percent growth in operating revenue in FY-16 at Rs 1,730.09 crore from Rs 1,370.39 crore in the previous year. The segment reported more than double operating profit 2.34 times) of Rs 206.51 crore in the current fiscal as compared to Rs 88.23 crore in the FY-15

    Movie Production and Distribution segment reported 59.1 percent growth in FY-16 at Rs 81.50 crore as compared to Rs 51.23 crore in FY-15. The segment’s operating profit in the current year increased 5.1 percent to Rs 2.88 crore from Rs 2.74 crore in FY-15.

    PVR’s ‘Other’ segment which includes bowling, gaming and restaurant services reported 3.9 percent increase in revenue in FY-16 at Rs 76.85 crore as compared to Rs 73.96 crore in the previous fiscal. The segment reported operating profit of Rs 0.1 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 2.80 crore in FY-15.

    The board of directors of PVR have approved a dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each

  • After PVR, Paytm now partners with Cinepolis

    After PVR, Paytm now partners with Cinepolis

    MUMBAI: With an ever increasing focus on the entertainment arena, Paytm has partnered with Cinépolis, This move will allow Paytm users to book their movie tickets with 236+  plus Cinepolis screens across Cinépolis, Cinépolis VIP and Fun Cinemas.

    In March this year, another Indian movie exhibition major – PVR Theatres had entered into a strategic tie-up with Paytm through which it hopes to sell tickets worth Rs 300 crore on PayTM’s e-commerce platforms in the first year, besides selling tickets from ticket counters and other channels. The deal was part of PVR’s nationwide foray in the on-line movie ticket segment. 

    Paytm VP Renu Satti  said, “At Paytm, we are committed to bring to our consumers what they love the most. When it comes to entertainment, it goes without saying that online movie ticketing wins the race. With Cinepolis’ strong presence across the country, we aim to offer multiple alternatives to our cinema lovers.”

    Cinepolis business head for strategic initiatives Devang Sampat said, “We are passionate to create the best customer experience for our patrons. Paytm is one of the fastest growing mobile payment and commerce platforms in the country. This strategic partnership will help us increase our online outreach and enhance the overall customer experience.”

    Apart from this, Cinépolis India has aggressive plans of rolling out 400 screens by 2017. Cinépolis in India has been awarded with “Most Admired Retail Launch” in 2010, “Most Admired Retailer – Innovation” in 2011, “Fastest Growing Multiplex Chain” in 2015 and “Most Admired Retailer – Entertainment” in 2015, “DLP Marketing Achievement Award” in 2015.

  • After PVR, Paytm now partners with Cinepolis

    After PVR, Paytm now partners with Cinepolis

    MUMBAI: With an ever increasing focus on the entertainment arena, Paytm has partnered with Cinépolis, This move will allow Paytm users to book their movie tickets with 236+  plus Cinepolis screens across Cinépolis, Cinépolis VIP and Fun Cinemas.

    In March this year, another Indian movie exhibition major – PVR Theatres had entered into a strategic tie-up with Paytm through which it hopes to sell tickets worth Rs 300 crore on PayTM’s e-commerce platforms in the first year, besides selling tickets from ticket counters and other channels. The deal was part of PVR’s nationwide foray in the on-line movie ticket segment. 

    Paytm VP Renu Satti  said, “At Paytm, we are committed to bring to our consumers what they love the most. When it comes to entertainment, it goes without saying that online movie ticketing wins the race. With Cinepolis’ strong presence across the country, we aim to offer multiple alternatives to our cinema lovers.”

    Cinepolis business head for strategic initiatives Devang Sampat said, “We are passionate to create the best customer experience for our patrons. Paytm is one of the fastest growing mobile payment and commerce platforms in the country. This strategic partnership will help us increase our online outreach and enhance the overall customer experience.”

    Apart from this, Cinépolis India has aggressive plans of rolling out 400 screens by 2017. Cinépolis in India has been awarded with “Most Admired Retail Launch” in 2010, “Most Admired Retailer – Innovation” in 2011, “Fastest Growing Multiplex Chain” in 2015 and “Most Admired Retailer – Entertainment” in 2015, “DLP Marketing Achievement Award” in 2015.

  • PVR becomes first exhibitor in India to achieve the 500-screen mark

    PVR becomes first exhibitor in India to achieve the 500-screen mark

    NEW DELHI: PVR has become the largest cinema exhibition company in the country, reaching the mark of 500 screens across the country and become the first exhibitor to do so.

    This achieves comes at a time when the number of single screen theatres is said to be dropping below 10,000 and multiplexes are just around 1000 in a country which has several lakh viewers every day.

    PVR, which now reaches 45 cities pan-India, began its journey in 1997 with the opening of India’s first multiplex cinema PVR Anupam in Saket.

    This led, in turn, to superlative movie experiences. From the first screening of Shahrukh Khan’s “Yes Boss” to Priyanka Chopra’s “Jai Gangaajal” this week, PVR Anupam laid the bedrock for a major business in entertainment.

    PVR’s advent into the multiplex industry came at a time when the entire fate of the movie business was uncertain. Triggered by video piracy and the dilapidated condition of cinemas with poor projection & sound quality, unhygienic atmosphere, dark & dingy environment, people were becoming averse to watching movies at cinema halls. 

    PVR provided choice to consumers to watch any movie under a single roof by way of a clean & hygienic place, staff serving in clean uniforms and a colourful ambience, it transformed the way millions of Indians consume movies. In a way PVR is being credited of ‘Taking India to movies’, reviving the movie industry when all seemed lost.

    Unaware of the multiplex format, PVR had to convince the government authorities, rewrite building bylaws that it was possible to have four cinemas under one roof without compromising on safety parameters.

    Considering India as a heterogeneous market, PVR has given the Indian audience a grand spectra of cinema formats like PVR Heritage, PVR Premier, PVR IMAX, PVR Director’s Cut, PVR Gold Class, PVR Premiere, PVR Talkies and the latest addition being PVR Icon & PVR Superplex.

    A company of many firsts in the Indian multiplex industry, PVR is India’s first fully digital cinema chain and the first in India to sign a 50 screen deal pan India with Dolby Atmos.  PVR is the first to offer online ticketing, queue- less box office through Quick-TIx Counters,  QR code ticketless entry, and ‘on the seat’ food offerings. PVR is also the first multiplex chain to install 3D enabled screens at all its multiplexes.

    Primarily starting as a north centric cinema brand, PVR assumed status of a national cinema chain within 4 years of its starting operations.  The acquisition of Cinemax India in 2012 propelled India into the big league. Being the largest cinema chain in India & entertaining over 70 million patrons, PVR’s dominance in the multiplex industry in India now extends to 501 screens, 111 cinemas in 45 cities across India. PVR has achieved a steady year on year growth with over 18 years of its existence redefining the way people watch movies with the launch of various formats under the gamut of cinema viewing experiences.

    Speaking on the occasion of achieving this milestone, PVR chairman & managing director Ajay Bijjli said “We are very excited to achieve the historic milestone of 500 screens. PVR always pushed the envelope to provide unique cinematic experiences for its audience. We are privileged to have been supported by millions of movie goers across India who have appreciated the brand and made it bigger. We cannot thank enough our shareholders and investors who have shown immense faith in us over the years. With this achievement we continue to inspire excellence in the industry and achieve another milestone of 1000 screens by 2018.”