Talking about Hollywood not allowing people to consume films on digital platforms, Rajjat A. Barjatya, Managing Director of Rajari Media said: “This model hasn’t worked for Hollywood because they are extremely protective of their content and their domestic market is huge. But for India, this is the future.”
Indeed, Bollywood, the most prolific film industry on earth has decided (via two of their major studios) to allow people to download/view films on their websites. There are a huge proportion (25 Millions) of Indian people living in foreign countries and therefore wanting to watch Indian films. Research is also showing that around 33% of revenue is lost each year to piracy…
“In November 2006, Rajshri released the romantic drama Vivah on its website, Rajshri.com, the same day it hit theaters. Within a week of its premiere, the film had been viewed online more than a million times. The Web release would eventually bring in $4.5 million — nearly a quarter of the picture’s total earnings. “Vivah proved that producers are best off releasing their films simultaneously — this way you are essentially creating a new market that would earlier either not have watched your film, or would’ve watched a pirated CD,” says Barjatya.”
“Fans can choose to watch videos for free with advertisements interspersed, or pay to download ad-free films; prices range from 99 cents for a music video to $9.99 for the latest Bollywood release.”
This is a very interesting and bold move for the cinema industry because it enables people to consume content the way they want to on one hand and generate new revenues and consolidate the business on the other hand.
This is actually reinforcing the “Free” theory recently developed by Chris Anderson. The model chosen by Bollywood is what Chris Anderson calls the Freemium business model: offering basic services for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features.
