Missed the latest blockbuster? No sweat, catch it on TV

The gap between a film’s release in theatres and its appearance on TV has been narrowing. What’s more, this trend is likely to accelerate because it’s a win-win for broadcasters and filmmakers. Aniruddha Guha talks to industry experts to find out what set this off and how it’s evolving.

 Dabangg, 2010’s biggest blockbuster, was shown on television less than three months after its release and clocked up a high TRP of 9.19. Khatta Meetha, which only did lukewarm business at the box office, also appeared on TV within two months of release and enjoyed a decent TRP of 4.82. This meant that a significant number of people, who wouldn’t go to a theatre to watch the film, didn’t mind watching it on TV.

Target Rating Point, or TRP, is reached at by taking into account two aspects — the reach of a particular show on a channel and the time spent by a viewer watching that particular show. Going by TRPs, films have got decidedly more popular on TV in 2010. 3 Idiots, for example, enjoyed a TRP of 10.88, the highest for a film this year. In comparison, the top TRP that any film got in 2009 was only 4.79 for Ghajini.

New films enjoy the luxury of promotional campaigns that ensure they are fresh in the minds of audiences when telecast on a particular channel. The high recall value translates into more people tuning in, which means higher TRPs and higher ad revenue for the channels, which in turn are willing to shell out more to acquire the latest films.

Virtuous circle
It’s a virtuous circle, because the more current the film, the bigger its attraction for TV audiences. “The window between a film’s release theatrically and its television premiere has gone done considerably,” says Gaurav Gandhi, international business head of Viacom 18 which owns the channel Colors. The average timeframe between release and telecast is now 10-12 weeks, which can go even lower depending on a film’s box office standing. Knock Out, which bombed at the box office, was telecast six weeks after release, while Ramayana —The Epic was shown within two weeks. But even a box-office blockbuster like Dabangg, which released on September 10, hit the TV screen less than three months later.

“The trend of showing films on TV so soon after their release is unique to the Indian market. Hollywood films are not shown on television channels till at least eight months after their theatrical release,” points out Gandhi. 

With channels fighting to acquire the latest films, producers can now recover a big chunk of their investments from selling satellite rights for TV. In Hollywood, after a film’s theatrical business, a major share comes from home video rights, ie the sale of the film’s DVDs. But in India, satellite rights score way above DVD rights.

The satellite rights of the recently-released Break Ke Baad, say industry sources, went for Rs13.5 crore, which is half of the film’s entire budget, thus making it a cinch for it to break even. Kunal Kohli, the film’s producer, does not divulge exact figures but admits the satellite rights fetched a handsome sum. “Today, the earnings from television are no less than, say, the earnings from the overseas market,” he said.  

A box office hit can earn Rs15-25 crore from satellite rights. 3 Idiots earned close to Rs30 crore from its satellite rights, while Raajneeti was sold for Rs20 crore, say sources. Compare this to 2007’s biggest hit Om Shanti Om, whose satellite rights were sold for Rs10 crore, the highest for any film at that time.

Multiplex effect
The skyrocketing price of satellite rights has been inversely proportional to the narrowing gap between a film’s theatrical release and its broadcast on TV.

Before the multiplex culture came to India, films would be screened in four shows in most cinema halls. Also, before the advent of digital prints, film reels would have to be physically transported to various parts of the country, which would mean a longer period of time required to exploit a film theatrically. In those days, rarely would a film be shown on television in less than a year’s time. In fact, distributors were known to insist on the film not being sold to other platforms before they had been completely exploited in theatres.

But today, with a blockbuster being screened 20-30 times a day at a single multiplex, the shelf-life of a film has come down considerably. Silver jubilees and 100-day celebrations have been replaced by opening weekend numbers and record-breaking business in a fortnight’s run. There was no longer a reason to hold back a film’s screening on TV.

The big change, however, started in 2007 when a number of broadcasters entered the market vying for the latest films. Along came the syndicate model. Instead of a film’s rights being sold to a single broadcaster, different channels could buy the same film for pay-per-view. So, new films like Jab We Met were shown on a number of channels in quick succession, thereby making a quick buck for the producer. In fact, for a time it became frenetic.

“We went a little too extreme with it. I mean, a single film was being shown on six different channels,” says Gandhi.

“Since one broadcaster gave in to the demands of the producers, most channels followed suit,” adds Sneha Rajani, business head at MAX. “In early 2010, broadcasters realised that we had to put an end to the syndication model.”

This year broadcasters got back to the more traditional form of acquisition — buying exclusive satellite rights of a film — and were also willing to pay a high price for it, which obviated the need for syndication. This is a win-win for producers and broadcasters.

“The cost of production of films has gone up in the last few years. It is obvious producers will want to cash in on satellite rights. And, with the payback being greater (thanks to higher TRPs), channels are willing to pay more too,” says Gandhi.

There are a host of other contributing factors loosening the channels’ purse-strings. The term of a film’s rights, which was an average of five years earlier, has gone up to seven or nine years, or even 11 years in some cases, which means a longer period of time for the channels to exploit the films. Also, channels air the films in more than one country, syndicating them to channels in other nations. Additionally, broadcasters have sub-titling and dubbing rights, helping them to exploit the films on regional channels.

What this means for the viewer is that new films will continue to be beamed to their living rooms weeks after their release in theatres. So if you missed the latest blockbuster, no sweat, you can catch it on TV soon.