Sony Pix to invest in Hollywood titles

Buoyed by the increasing popularity of Hollywood movies in India and the desire to increase its market share, Sony Pix will continue to channelise more than half of its advertisement revenues to buy Hollywood titles.

“We will continue to spend 60 per cent of our advertisement revenues on acquiring content (Hollywood movies). We are also exploring more tie-ups with Hollywood studios, adding two to our existing five,”  Executive Vice-President & Business Head of Sony Pix, Saurabh Yagnik said.

He was speaking to reporters after unveiling the channel's new logo and tagline to re-position itself in a business dominated by about 10 such channels that together command advertisement revenues of about Rs 450 to 500 crore.

Sony Pix is Hollywood movie channel from Multi Screen Media (MSM), which is majority owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The popularity of Hollywood movies outside the US and Canada is evident, he said, from the split in revenues globally.  
The total revenues from Hollywood movies in 2012 was $34.7 billion, of which the US and Canada accounted for $10.7 billion, or about 30 per cent, the rest came from outside these two countries, a major market being China,” Yagnik said.

India is at the lower end of the top 10 markets outside the US and Canada, he added.

The advertisement revenues of these channels is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 15 to 20 per cent. The Vice-President & Head (Programming) at Sony Pix, Amogh Dusad said, “ The top four channels, including Sony Pix, account for 75 per cent of the market share.” The channel expects to grow its advertisement revenues by about 25 per cent, but declined to share revenue or profit details.