5 Feb 2010, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Get ready to watch live matches of the third edition of Indian Premier League(IPL) on the big screen. Digital distribution company UFO Moviez has stuck strategic alliances with multiplex operators such as PVR, Inox, Fame and Cinemax, besides several single screen theatres, to showcase the T20 tournament across 550 screens.
"Before the IPL’s third season begins we hope to expand these alliances to about 1,000 screens. We will also create a stadium like experience at these cinemas with cheerleaders, music and IPL merchandise stalls," said Kapil Agarwal, joint managing director UFO Moviez India.
He added that for consumers the ticket prices for these matches will be comparable to the weekend movie tickets, which typically has a premium of upto 50% to the weekday price of around Rs 100-150 . The ticket for the semi-final and final matches will be sold at a higher price.
UFO Moviez is offering matches on revenue share arrangements per match as well as in packages of 10-30 matches to theater and multiplex owners.
The company is in talks with brands to advertise on-air at the beginning and the end of a match and during strategy breaks. In addition, UFO Moviez would tap local sponsors to advertise at the cinemas screening IPL matches and expects to rake in Rs 40-50 crore through ticket sales and advertising in the first year.
Box office collections were hit during the first two seasons of IPL with no big movies being released at that time. UFO Moviez believes IPL matches screening offers an alternate revenue stream for cinema owners.
Late last year, Entertainment and Sports Direct , an arm of private equity group Dar Capital had bagged the global theatrical rights of IPL till 2019 for Rs 330 crore.
It had then assigned the Indian theatrical rights to Crown Infotainment which is owned by a group of Indian businessmen. UFO Moviez is a sister company of Crown Infotainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment