NEWS 1 LINK:
3 Idiots to release simultaneously on DTH- Buzz18 Entertainment
Bollywood perfectionist Aamir Khan, who is always using innovative methods for promoting his movies, is all set to promote his forthcoming movie, Three Idiots, which is based on Chetan Bhagat novel.
In an attempt to make maximum profits from the movie, Aamir has adopted an innovative method for this movie. If sources are to be believed, then ‘Three Idiots’ will hit the silver screens and DTH screens simultaneously.
A source from the industry informs, "Aamir Khan was earlier keen on releasing his film Ghajini on DTH format. The plan did not work out. But this time he wants to release 3 Idiots on DTH in the first week itself. He wants the film's total profits to go to the filmmakers and not to the film pirates. The pirated DVD will cost a customer Rs 100 but they can watch the same film and a better print for just Rs 75 on DTH. This will also ensure that a larger number of people watch his film."
NEWS 2 LINK:
Is DTH shutting the lights out of multiplex?- Entertainment-Media/Entertainment -News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
Ajay Bijli, CMD, PVR
Twelve years ago, a nascent multiplex industry sowed in the seeds of a dream—to get the cine fans back to the theatres and since then, close to Rs 2000 crore has been invested in setting up a chain of more than 800 state-of-the-art cinema
halls across the country. Every new plex that opened doubled the revenue for the filmmaker, we still set the benchmark for how a film has done. Theatrical contributions have risen high as people chose to see the latest films seated in luxurious seats and voted for an aesthetic and hygienic ambience.
This latest move of releasing a movie across DTH on day after its release is not fair. We, at PVR for example had slotted 138 shows for the film a week which we have not even played out yet. Here is a big star cast involved, there have been three releases this weekend and people need space and time to watch all the films. If this had been decided earlier, we could have given the other two films more shows.
Windows are critical and even the West has tried and accepted that a decent time gap between windows is good for all
business, one cannot cannabalise the net box office collections. Even if a movie has not done well, there can be some post release marketing, there is no need to panic in 3-4 days.
Jawahar Goel, MD, Dish
TV
For years, the cable piracy has not killed the exhibition industry, why would a DTH and movie-on-demand (MOD) affect it?
Human psyche shows there are two types of consumers. One who will watch it on pirated dvd and the other who will go out to the theatre to watch a film. It’s like eating at home or a seven star hotel, DTH is like home dining while the plex experience is like a seven star. People pay for the luxury, not the movies in a plex. Both DTH and the exhibition industry are complimentary to each other and if competitive, it is in a very small way.
DTH helps to kill piracy, the consumption experience is so different, a movie-on-demand can go some way in being an upside for a producer and it is so small that the theatres need have no worry at all. In fact, the more people that experience a movie on DTH, may actually see some people convert and go to the cinema hall to watch a film after that! The bigger screen experience can never be replicated on the small screen. Tommorrow, a film may release on mobile, does it mean everyone will switch to seeing films only on mobiles?
A plex has a three tier pricing, from Rs 40-400, are these competing with each other? I don’t think so. Adequate window times will evolve and stabilize as the industry matures. For now, the fight is against piracy and DTH offers a transparent revenue option, so everyone should work together.