Moser Baer set to enter Kerala Home Video market with 101 Malayalam Titles

Moser Baer India Ltd on January 31, 2007, has announced that it would soon launch a new initiative in content distribution in Cochin, marking the extension of the Company's maiden foray into the Entertainment Industry, through the Indian home video market in Kerala. The Company's Home Entertainment division was announced in December 2006 to an appreciative market. On January 10, Moser Baer launched over 101 Tamil titles in Tamil Nadu, a move which has been receiving overwhelming response which are much ahead of our sales estimates.

The Company will soon launch the new super hit Malayalam film - Tiger, starting Suresh Gopi, Murali and Gopika, in both VCD and DVD formats. The Company also plans to launch 100 other titles from its library of over 600 Malayalam titles, both from catalogue as new films. This is the first time that a launch of such an unprecedented scale of titles will take place in Kerala. While all the titles will be introduced in VCD format, 12 key titles are planned to be introduced in DVD format also.

The distribution of the titles is intended to reach almost every movie enthusiast in the state and to this end the Company has already lined up 26 distributors in Kerala and stocks shall be available immediately in around 5,000 outlets to begin with. This number is stated to keep increasing as the Company increases its reach in the state. In order to make the people aware of this tremendous and unique opportunity, the Company will be advertising the concept of low cost, original VCDs and DVDs in local TV channels and press starting from February 01.

The division based out of Mumbai, with presence across the country in all major metros as well as in smaller towns through an active and well-organized three-tiered channel, this move will take advantage of the established Company's production capability and a well developed distribution network. The Company is releasing video content on DVD and Video CD formats using its proprietary and patented technology which enhances quality and significantly reduces cost. This is expected to enable the Company to revolutionize the quality-price parity and offer unprecedented value for the consumers.

The Company's new division is in final negotiations to acquire copyrights / exclusive license of more than 7000 titles in all major Indian languages which comprises a third of all movies produced till date in India. With world-class packaging, wide distribution reach and global quality production standards in each product, customers will be given a compelling value proposition which has hitherto fore not been seen in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Ratul Puri, Executive Director, of the Company, said, "This initiative is poised to bring a paradigm change in the home video market in Kerala We clearly recognize the tremendous opportunity of the Malayalam Cinema. We believe this will lead to much higher consumption of content on home video, and encourage people to build libraries and eschew piracy. We have planned distribution to reach virtually every town where there is a movie loving family. Our rich library, world-class packaging and production, and unbeatable value propositions for customers will surely propel Moser Baer and this new venture into the top end of the market in a very short time."

According to recent research, India has over 26 million DVD / VCD users, growing at a healthy clip of over 25%, and comprising about a fourth of all TV ownership in the country. Despite the huge potential market, home video accounts for a mere 7% of the total film revenues of Rs 7,900 crore. The US home video market is almost the same revenue size as that of the theatrical market.

The new initiative will release titles in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi languages. With 18 CFAs, 400 distributors and a dedicated sales force, this division will also set up owned and branded outlets at about 300 locations in addition to its alliances with large format stores. One such branded outlet was already inaugurated and functioning at Podicherry.

Source : Equity Bulls

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