TV se pehle
Once studios vied to sell the satellite rights of a film after its theatrical release for TV premieres. Now, the biggest studios are premiering their films on digital platforms and before their TV premieres
Eros — among the biggest production houses in Bollywood — was looking forward to a slate of exciting releases in 2015. There was NH10, Badlapur, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and, towards the end of the year, they would have the Sanjay Leela Bhansali extravaganza, Bajirao Mastani. “We had these assets and we wanted to create a differentiating factor,” says Vaibhav Vishal, the chief creative officer for Eros Now, the digital wing of the studio.
Looking for a smart way to connect with a young audience, they wondered, why not premiere these movies on a digital platform before they were broadcast on TV? So as Vaibhav says, “TV se pehle became the buzzword that we started working with.” The initiative had lots of takers, as well as support from the film industry — Kangana Ranaut, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Saif Ali Khan (for Happy Ending) were just some of the stars who shot special segments for the digital premieres of their films.
Just why did “TV se pehle” make news? Because for several years now, after a film’s theatrical release, selling its satellite rights for a television premiere has been the biggest revenue model for studios and production houses. But as the trend of consumption of movie content on the Internet sees an ever-upward graph (a KPMG-Ficci report stated that by 2017, the number of mobile subscribers in India will cross the 1 billion mark, while the total number of Internet users is slated to reach 500 million), film studios are looking for newer ways to connect with the audience. No longer are they putting up only trailers and songs, even full-length films are being offered on their digital platforms. And the content isn't being shown on YouTube or Facebook alone, studios like Eros and Fox Star have their own digital platforms, and have even launched their own apps.
So if Eros Now went digital with NH10, Badlapur et al before their TV premieres, Fox Star did the same with its Bombay Velvet. And now, the latter has major (digital) plans for its upcoming release, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.
Just who are studios targeting with these TV se pehle digital premieres?
“Seventy per cent of the Day One collections of any film come from the youth,” points out Shikha Kapur, the chief marketing officer at Fox Star Studios. “And it is important to tap this (segment of the) audience through various engagements.” While they are the first ones to queue up at the theatres, this young audience also has another important characteristic — they do not often control the remote to the TV set at home. “Most average Indian households are still single TV households,” says Akshay Sharma, the head of marketing for Eros Now. “And what is watched on TV is determined by either the mother or the father of the household.
They watch the soaps, or news. Our target group is between the age group of 15-30 years largely… what happens in the evenings when the parents occupy the TV? It’s not like they (the youngsters) are not consuming content — but they are doing it on their laptops or their tabs, smart phones. Data is getting cheaper, and they have their content on their pen drives. So they are definitely consuming content. These are the people we want to reach out to. And that’s where the window for such platforms comes in. Digital is where people are consuming content.”
There's a “window” of opportunity for the studios
It isn’t just about reaching out to the right audience — there is a gap in the market itself that studios are seeking to fill with their digital premieres. “The life cycle of a movie, when it is released in the theatres, is around 4-5 weeks — and then it’s out. There is a ‘dark window’ during which it is not legally available to viewers to see. That ‘window’ lends itself to piracy,” says Vivek Krishnani, the managing director of Sony Pictures India. “The digital platform has to exploit that dark window between the theatrical release and the satellite broadcast. But the challenge is that it should not be free either. For premium content, you have to charge the consumer — that’s how iTunes and Google Play work. Providing free content devalues your product.”
And for viewers and filmmakers too
Fox Star’s Shikha Kapur points out that “Internet usage has grown by 30 per cent in India and there are currently over 200 million users in India”. Mobile phone usage too, has penetrated deeply in India. So “the day 4G comes, you’ll be able to access films in five minutes and it will reach out to half of India,” Shikha adds. “Markets that currently don’t have screens, talking from the point of view of the studios, we would be able to reach them with our content via faster Internet.”
And for filmmakers who do not have access to strong distribution networks, the digital platform should be a boon. “If you’re a producer and you don't have that network, this new platform will really help you. Movies that do not have a big theatrical release, this could open up a new revenue model for them. And while a lot of revenue does come in from satellite deals, the prices have fallen, and in time, people will start making films for this new platform,” Shikha says.
But it's baby steps for now
The studios admit that while the digital platform for films is only going to get bigger and better, as of now at least, they aren’t thinking about it in terms of sheer numbers or revenue. “Mobile is where most of the viewing is happening at this point of time. But the revenue it generates — you can’t put a number to it. Internationally, the numbers are very good, but yes, piracy has a huge impact,” says Vivek Krishnani, adding that what is needed is to build a habit. “That ‘habit building’ will happen after many attempts and then this generation will look to it as the right thing to do. The move should obviously be towards paying for content.”
Still, what has been accomplished is the establishment of digital platforms as yet another alternative to offer viewers. As Eros Now’s Akshay Sharma says, “The TV audience will continue to watch films on TV. But the limitation of TV is that it’s a onetime appointment perishable commodity — whereas on digital, it’s easier to consume content with pause and play.” So for viewers who prefer to have that flexibility, there’s a clear alternative to watching films on TV.
And ultimately, having films available on different platforms doesn’t mean that audiences will view it on solely a single one of the platforms. Says Vivek Krishnani, “Today, the viewer can start watching a film on one medium and finish watching it on another.”