Mumbai: Turner India’s kids channels Pogo and Cartoon Network have refrained from running the promos of Mirchi Movies’ upcoming film Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors. This action has been taken on the grounds that the movie has an impending court case filed against it by Warner Brothers Studio, over the title of the movie, which sounds similar to Harry Potter.
Pogo and Cartoon Network channels are a part of Turner Broadcasting, which falls under the Time Warner group of companies.
Mirchi Movies COO Munish Purii informs, "As a part of our deal with Britannia, which has a strategic in-film placement in Hari Puttar, Britannia was to spend approximately Rs 10 million in marketing the film across various kids channels. A good portion of these spends were also dedicated to Pogo and Cartoon Network, but now I have been informed by Britannia and T-Series that the two channels are not playing the promos because of the Warner case."
Purii further adds, "The court has not issued an injunction against the release of the film, so I don’t know why they are hesitating to play the promos."
When contacted by Businessofcinema.com, Turner International India vice president and deputy general manager – entertainment networks, South Asia Monica Tata said, "As we understand that the matter is currently before the courts, we’re unable to comment on it."
Being a movie that is targetted primarily at kids, it is but obvious that the promotions will run full throttle across channels catering to kids. Other kids’ channels like the Disney Channel, Toon Disney, Nick and Hungama are running the promos of Hari Puttar.
