UPDATE 1 : dthinformation.com reports Dish TV and Videocon d2h confirmed that, they will air "Vishwaroopam" on 10th Jan 2013
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All direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers, except Sun Direct customers, may get to view Kamal Haasan’s latest movie Vishwaroopam ahead of its release on January 11, 2013, right at the comfort of their homes for a fee of Indian Rs 1,000.
In a first of its kind in Indian film history, Kamal
Hassan who has decided to premier his latest `95-crore venture through
DTH before its release in wide screens, is reported to have struck the
DTH deal for a one time fixed price of Indian Rs 40 crore.
Industry sources confirm that the deal with Dish TV and Videocon is through while talks are still on with Airtel, Reliance Big TV and Tata Sky . The nitty-gritty’s of the deal as to being an outright one-time sale for DTH companies or a revenue-sharing basis of between Kamal Hassan and companies are still being worked out.
Talks are still underway to finalize if the sum of Indian Rs 40 crore should be footed by a consortium of DTH players or if Tata Sky would play as an anchor player allocating further rights to others. However, Sun Direct, part of Sun Network is reported to have been kept out of the deal, sources said.
Kamal Hassan has already sold television telecast right for the movie to Jaya TV and it is learnt that Sun Group too is busy drafting a similar arrangement with another Tamil movie.
Though exhibitors have vehemently opposed the move fearing a dip in theatre collections, the concept seems to have found favour among distributors and producers.
“This is Kamal’s own production and he wants to experiment with the model entirely at his risk. Exhibitors are not going to lose any amount even if the model fails,” said Mr Katragadda Prasad, ex-secretary, South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.
“This is just another evolution of Indian cinema. As advent of television did not kill newspapers, DTH too will only aid producers in finding a new source of revenue and help exhibitors better their profits,” said Mr T. Siva, vice-president, Tamil Nadu Film producers’ Council.
During this year, 148 films have been released so far though only eight films have been successful. Around 62 of them have not been released not even been released even after the Censor Board approval due to financial reasons.
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All direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers, except Sun Direct customers, may get to view Kamal Haasan’s latest movie Vishwaroopam ahead of its release on January 11, 2013, right at the comfort of their homes for a fee of Indian Rs 1,000.
Industry sources confirm that the deal with Dish TV and Videocon is through while talks are still on with Airtel, Reliance Big TV and Tata Sky . The nitty-gritty’s of the deal as to being an outright one-time sale for DTH companies or a revenue-sharing basis of between Kamal Hassan and companies are still being worked out.
Talks are still underway to finalize if the sum of Indian Rs 40 crore should be footed by a consortium of DTH players or if Tata Sky would play as an anchor player allocating further rights to others. However, Sun Direct, part of Sun Network is reported to have been kept out of the deal, sources said.
Kamal Hassan has already sold television telecast right for the movie to Jaya TV and it is learnt that Sun Group too is busy drafting a similar arrangement with another Tamil movie.
Though exhibitors have vehemently opposed the move fearing a dip in theatre collections, the concept seems to have found favour among distributors and producers.
“This is Kamal’s own production and he wants to experiment with the model entirely at his risk. Exhibitors are not going to lose any amount even if the model fails,” said Mr Katragadda Prasad, ex-secretary, South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.
“This is just another evolution of Indian cinema. As advent of television did not kill newspapers, DTH too will only aid producers in finding a new source of revenue and help exhibitors better their profits,” said Mr T. Siva, vice-president, Tamil Nadu Film producers’ Council.
During this year, 148 films have been released so far though only eight films have been successful. Around 62 of them have not been released not even been released even after the Censor Board approval due to financial reasons.