The Hindu Business Line : Reliance Entertainment zooms in on NRIs

Mumbai, Aug. 14 Reliance Entertainment is planning to target NRIs with its new business venture – Big Flicks. Providing services such as video on demand and video on rent, the company will enable Indians abroad to view movies on the day of its release in India.

Mr Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance Entertainment, told Business Line, “We would give NRIs a chance to download movies on the same day the movies are released in India. The price charged will be higher than what is being charged at the multiplexes in the country.” The entertainment company would give its customers the option of subscription-based pricing as well as fixed monthly rentals to watch unlimited movies over a period of time. Besides, there would be brick-and-mortar establishments to provide customers the option of renting DVDs, but these would be limited to the domestic market.

“For instance, even the Indian based in Seattle who wants to watch the latest Shah Rukh release Chak De would have the option of downloading the film from our service. The customer could either pay per movie or through fixed r entals for the month which could range from $25 onwards,” states Mr Sawhney.

The company’s online gaming portal, Zapak.com, has gathered 25 million users during the first six months of its launch. Building three sustainable revenue streams for the portal, the company is expecting its brick-and-mortar cafes, prepaid cards and advertising to contribute significantly to building this business further.

Besides, its next Internet offering, bigadda.com, is expected to target 10 million users within the first year of its launch. With advertising as the only source of revenue for this youth networking site, Reliance Entertainment expects to get more users by roping in celebrities such as actress Dia Mirza and golfer Irina Brar at its site. In fact, including a sports section is a challenge taken up by the social networking site as getting rights to events and games is not easy.

As the company prepares to foray into new mediums such as IPTV and DTH in the future, getting into the business of broadcasting is also an opportunity that is being tapped. “Yes, we are evaluating the broadcasting business,” added Mr Sawhney, hinting at the possibility of inorganic growth in this space.

More Stories on : Entertainment & Leisure | Strategy | NRIs

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page