Showing posts with label Satellite Movie Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Satellite Movie Rights. Show all posts

June 4, 2012

MAA TV vs. Gemini TV vs. ETV vs. Zee Telugu

Earlier, films used to clash only at the Box Office, on Fridays. But now, most clashes aren't  happening there. TV Channels is where the action is. Yesterday, amidst much fanfare, MAA TV has set the timing for telecast of "Dookudu", Tollywood's biggest blockbuster at 6pm Sunday. Lot of billboard advertising, radio ads and countless promos have gone into driving traffic for the film premiere which was purchased for well over Rs.5 crs. All set for 6 pm slot. But Gemini TV, AP's No.1 channel is not an easy competitor - atleast, they never let go an opportunity to nibble into rival channels' market share. They telecast another blockbuster "Kaanchana", a ghost-thriller movie of Raghava Lawrence at 3.30pm which is actually sleeping time for most Sunday TV watchers. But the climax is red-hot and must-watch for any film buff, it was stretching beyond 6pm - which made the edgy MAA TV delay the "Dookudu" telecast beyond half-hour. Last half-hour saw enormous channel-surfing as viewers were glued to the "Kaanchana" climax. Meanwhile, MAATV showed the curtain-raiser of "Dookudu" to fill in the half-hour during which "Kaanchana" ended.

The drama didn't end there. At 6.30pm, Gemini TV showed another hit of 2011, "Mr.Perfect" starring Prabhas and Kajal. That coincided exactly with "Dookudu" and the ad slots were carefully chosen not to clash with each other channel. But the movie on Gemini ended atleast 45 minutes before "Dookudu" finally got completed on MAA TV - with actors' clippings, samantha's comments and finally a re-run of the most hilarious episodes of the film stretching the run time from 6pm-10.30 pm. Only, "Ben Hur" and "Meraa Naam Joker" would have beaten that record running time. I am always intrigued by the rival strategies and counter-strategies of TV Channels in AP - they try to outdo each other. But I think, maturity-wise, MAA TV and ETV are better-off than the competitive Gemini TV. Gemini just can't give up fighting - whether its a Zee Telugu premiere or a MAA TV Blockbuster. Why do I say that? The total Ad revenue size of AP TV channels is Rs.700 crs. The prime slots take bulk of the revenue. It is therefore wise and economical for channels to vie for viewers' attention more carefully instead of making the advertisers lose money on programmes which don't get undivided atttention. The pecking order for entertainment channels in AP is as follows: No.1 Gemini TV, No.2 MAA TV, No.3 ETV and No.4 Zee Telugu. So, the race is between the top 3 really with channel share (sum of all channels in the group brand like MAA or Gemini) going upto 10-15 per cent.

Thats why the stakes are high for the top 3 but what I find intriguing is Gemini never gives in easily to the No.2 or No.3. And so, all throughout the day, yesterday, in order to tackle "Dookudu", it built steady traffic through blockbuster after blockbuster. Started with "Kick", then "Kaanchana" and then finally showdown with "Dookudu" - "Mr Perfect". Even though MAA TV now has the movie rights for the top five all-time Industry hits in Tollywood - 1. Dookudu 2. Magadheera 3. Arundhati 4.Pokiri and 5. Simha, there's a tendency to over-pay and raise the bidding stakes for producers of superhits. This is a game where the channels lose out which ETV doesn't get into. Gemini TV does get into the bidding game but doesn't over-pay. It picks one out of every four movies bid for satellite rights but ensures it stays in the competition but doesn't end up over-paying. "Gabbar Singh" the next industry all-time grosser is currently going for Rs.9 crores. We have to see who picked it.

ETV also tried its best to nibble into the viewership yesterday by airing a special program on SPB "Nenu Naa Swara Kartalu". The program took away some eyeballs from "Dookudu" in the middle. Advantage ETV and Gemini TV have over MAA and Zee is the vintage viewership and loyal base. Through old classics bought for a song and long-running musical shows and serials, they have ensured higher profitability and longer loyalties. Can you believe a movie like "Shankarabharanam" rights were bought by Gemini for Rs.1 lac only? Interesting strategies from different channels.

January 13, 2012

Film Production Costs and Satellite Rights of Movies

"Businessman" is releasing on 13th and "Bodyguard" on 14th. Good for both. But there's a new twist in "Businessman". For the first time, it seems, the satellite rights of "Businessman" are sold on a revolving basis instead of being sold for a longish period of 5 yrs or so. This time, Puri Jaganadh, the maverick director who worked non-stop for 77 days schedule of the movie has done what smart Bollywood producers are doing. He bought the satellite rights of the movie for a whopping Rs.7.7 crs - Rs.5 crores as his remuneration for the movie (Wow!) and Rs.2.7 crs. as "Eduru Katnam" making it an unheard of figure for satellite rights for any Tollywood movie. For the first round of limited period - MAA TV gets the rights. Interesting times for Tollywood producers and directors - satellite rights are fetching good monies.


"Sri Rama Rajyam" has fetched its benevolent producer Saibabu Rs.4.50 crs. and so on. In times of yore, you had none of this - I remember once "Shankarabharanam" producer Edida Nageswar Rao was flying with me - and he told me that most of his classics were sold to SunTV for a song - as long as Rs.5 lacs or so. Times have changed and even Directors are thinking like a "Businessman"!

The onus shifts to Satellite TVs to make money - MAA TV holds the rights of almost all the top ten all-time grossers of Tollywood in the last five years, Gemini and Zee come up with occasional movies which get the eyeballs still, while ETV goes for the ever-green mix of vintage movies with high family entertainment. I was once educated by a Respected Media Advisor on how TV Channels like MAA TV made huge money by betting on movies which nobody guessed would become "multi-baggers" like "Pokiri" and "Simham" - that is what I call scientific betting. But when the stakes get higher like Rs.4 crs to Rs.7 crs. it becomes difficult to make money unless you show the movie atleast 20 times within the period the rights are bought for - say, five years and so on.

There is another game in this whole buying - and most often, it appears to me, the smart producers and directors will create a story to pump-prime the winning bid. They will say, "this movie cost us Rs.40 crs." It will not always be true. OR, it will be hopelessly true sometimes. For example, in "Srirama Rajyam" movie, the opening shot of the movie shows Rama and Sita ushered in at Ayodhya with flowers. That shot - remember? Originally, Bapu Uncle wanted rich quality flowers costing Rs.5000/- for them. Producer SaiBabu wass not available on the shot and the Production Controller said "Sorry Sir, that is not possible because we dont have sanction beyond Rs.500/- for this shot." Bapu Uncle said, "Okay, whatever, let us have it for Rs.500/-". When the director and the producer were reviewing the shots, Producer Saibabu wanted a richer look for the shot and asked Bapu uncle why costlier flowers were not used. Bapu uncle said, "Your man didn't allow us to buy costly flowers so we made do with flowers worth only Rs.500/-only. But we can digitise the effect to reflect higher quality." Saibabu gave a go-ahead. The final bill - from what should have been Rs.5000/- for flowers came as a shock to Saibabu - it was Rs.5.96 lacs!

Whose fault is it? Not Bapu Uncle - he is known for strict budgeting and cost control. It was the mistake of the Production Controller who should have checked with Executive Producer or the Main producer for not cutting corners with a crucial scene like that. Fifteen or more of such special effects, and you will easily incur a few crores more. Thats how film costs go up - but as I said not all costs are genuine - they could be marketing ploys to cough up higher satellite revenues. Thats the main point of this story - not to poke fun at anybody.

"Jailor" (Telugu/Tamil) Movie Review: Electrifying!

        "Jailer" is an electrifying entertainer in commercial format by Nelson who always builds a complex web of crime and police...