TV networks wary of buying movie rights as viewership drops

Many films, other than big-budget ones, are struggling to find buyers at even half the asking price.

Over the past few months, trade experts say the box office failure of films like ’83 and Dhaakad made it tough to strike satellite television deals, and a lot of small films, particularly those in Malayalam and Tamil, have remained unsold to TV. According to media industry experts, the past few years have seen a 40% drop in viewership and advertising for movie channels.

The crisis, having begun before the pandemic, has aggravated in the two years since.

“There has been a 50% drop in acquisition rates when compared with pre-covid, and as things stand, a lot of films may not get sold at all in 2023,” said Manish Shah, founder and director of Goldmines Telefilms, which owns TV channel Dhinchaak, renamed Goldmines Movies.

The decline in viewership for movie channels, media industry experts said, is due to the fact that the same content is available on multiple platforms.

“On streaming platforms, people have the option of watching films at their own convenience, without ads, which seems like a much better option,” Shah said.

Companies like Disney Star, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) and Viacom18 did not respond to Mint’s queries.

“A lot of films have not done well at the theatrical box office this year, so the buzz around them is anyway low. But even those that did manage some draw in cinemas, like say KGF: Chapter 2, RRR and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, don’t see much viewership on TV post the first two airings,” said a senior executive at a broadcast network.

In contrast, older hits such as Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and KGF: Chapter 1 had managed impressive ratings for years, the person said.

A few producers are bundling satellite and digital rights for companies like Disney and Zee, but a bunch of movie titles that have sold their streaming rights to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, especially at a premium, are finding no takers on TV, the broadcaster added.

Karan Taurani, senior vice-president at Elara Capital Ltd, said the fall in TV prices is an automatic response to the rise in OTT acquisition rates over the years. While a large film would earlier sell its satellite rights for around ₹50 crore earlier, the same would now cost ₹25-30 crore.

On the other hand, a big-ticket movie that would have been paid ₹50 crore for its OTT rights until a few months ago, could now get ₹60-65 crore.

“Theatrical release has also emerged as the biggest source of validation in 2022. If a small film has chosen to go directly to OTT, there are very few takers for it on TV.

Satellite is no longer a big revenue earner, especially because streaming platforms are demanding at least a one-month window after the OTT premiere. But by then, who will want to watch it on TV?” independent trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai said.