MUMBAI: After signing a television syndication deal with Sony for 16 films including Om Shanti Om and Heyy Babyy; Eros International’s Indian arm Eros Multimedia has now entered into a similar deal with Sahara One.
The deal with Sahara gives the channel access to 35 blockbuster library films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Hey Ram to name a few.
As has already been reported by Businessofcinema.com, Eros’ deal with Sony includes 16 new films including current blockbusters from 2007-08 such as Om Shanti Om, Heyy Babyy amongst others.
The terms and structure of these new syndication deals demonstrate the incremental opportunities to exploit both new releases and catalogue of Indian entertainment content in the face of growing consumer demand. Eros, with its extensive film library of over 1300 titles and consistent 25-30 new releases every year, is uniquely positioned to benefit from this trend.
Apart from licensing to the leading Indian television networks, Eros has also concluded several deals during the year with television platforms around the world like Dubai Television, Abu Dhabi Television, RTM Malaysia, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation and National TV Romania to name a few.
The rapidly growing $6 billion Indian television sector has been experiencing growth at 21 per cent CAGR. The Indian television sector has seen the leading players like Zee, Sony, Star, Sahara be joined by INX, NDTV Imagine, Viacom-TV18 and several other such players. This has allowed content owners like Eros to syndicate limited telecast rights to be shared between three-four channels for a limited period rather than licensing exclusive rights to any one channel for a longer period.
Eros International director and president India Sunil Lulla said, "We have enjoyed a great relationship with Sony over the years who like Eros have been trendsetters in their space. I am delighted we were able to conclude another innovative deal with them this year. We have had business dealing with Sahara for many years now but this is the first time we have licensed them a slate of films for television exploitation and hope to continue to do more deals with them in the future."
Sony Entertainment Television global CEO Kunal Dasgupta added, "Eros is a major player within the Indian film sector and Bollywood films are a critical part of our programming mix. We are delighted to have secured this deal with Eros with whom we have enjoyed a great working relationship for several years."
Sahara Network global CEO Seemanto Roy said, "Our channel Filmy has been doing extremely well at the ratings. We are confident that this slate of films from Eros will allow us to maximise our revenues from the channel."
Related story:
Sony acquires 16 films’ satellite rights from Eros Multimedia
