Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada has told Indiantelevision.com, that they’re in talks with players in the market to offer titles via DTH and IPTV, and a few deals are in the offing shortly. He also elaborates on procedures that Shemaroo has implemented to tackle piracy…a shorter release time, he said, doesn’t help much since most Indian consumers prefer to watch the movie as soon as it is available. Stronger cooperation from the government and the police force will help. Gada expects revenue growth of 25-30 percent in 2007 because of growth in the overseas market. Revenue is coming primarily from Bollywood content; they release around 15-20 titles a month, of which 10-15 are Bollywood films.
Pricing of content via DTH and IPTV will be crucial, and if it is anything like 8-10 times that of a pirated DVD, it just won’t work. How much do pirated DVDs rent at? Anything between Rs.25-75, depending on where you are. How much is a movie ticket? In multiplexes, around Rs.125-150 (works out to around Rs.200-250 per head, if you take into account additional expenses). And if the content isn’t compelling enough, consumers might just prefer the pirated option, instead of a definitely superior theater experience. How much will the movies on DTH or IPTV be priced at? If anything between Rs.150-200, you might as well forget about it…where’s the value proposition?