MUMBAI: Nimbus Communications has forayed into the home video entertainment business with the launch of Showtime.

The venture will entail rental and sale of home entertainment content in formats like DVDs, VCDs, Game CDs and other allied products.

The other first-of-its-kind feature is that a customer of Showtime can order a movie through a channel of his/her choice – phone-ins, walk into a store, through the internet, SMS and even through the delivery boy.

Showtime stores are currently operational in Mumbai’s Bandra, Lokhandwala, Malad and Chembur areas. In addition, there are eight distribution centres across Mumbai to ensure prompt delivery anywhere in the city.

Showtime has 16,000 titles across all genres in following languages Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Marwari, Punjabi and English.

It is the only service in India that combines rental and sale of DVDs, VCDs and other allied products, all delivered at home. These come at a competitive pricing package to the consumer, who does not have to pay any registration fee or deposit to avail of the service.

Showtime hopes to rope in 500,000-750,000 subscribers in the first year and three million subscribers by the end of the third year, which is likely to happen in the first 15 months of operation.

Showtime COO Sanjay Sharma said, “The home entertainment business is set to grow exponentially. With Showtime we aim at a more organised approach to the Home Entertainment business in India. We are confident that with the emergence of organized retail, such as ours, this space will witness significant changes in customer habits as also much higher levels of customer delight. Better quality viewing, prompt delivery, competitive pricing, a wider array of products and superior service standards will all comprise the critical success factors of the business.”

Showtime has succeeded in obtaining rental licenses from major distributors and plans to create a foothold over 120 cities in its next stage of expansion.