MUMBAI: While the general time to bring a Hollywood movie to Indian TV screens has been nine to 12 months, the deal between &flix and Sony Pictures Television is changing the norm. Now, viewers can catch their favourite movies within a few months of launch.
It will start with Sony Pictures Television’s MIB: International on 20 October 2019. It will also include some other titles from Sony Pictures Television’s library such as Spider-Man: Far From Home, Brightburn, Angry Birds 2, Jumanji: The Next Level, Charlie’s Angels (2019) and Zombieland 2.
ZEEL English cluster business head Kartik Mahadev said, “The initiative of world television premiere will be a big disruption in the category; address the challenges of consumers and offer movies just three months after release is something that will delight our consumers.”
He further said, “We are also building further on the Flix First premieres; it is the property where the channel offers viewers an opportunity to watch new theatrical movies before anybody else through premieres. We built on the Flix First premieres delivering the most number of premieres but now we are trying to delight our viewers by bringing movies on television before anywhere else in the world. It’s a world television premiere and it’s a disruption in the category.”
Mahadev believes that this initiative will address the consumers’ challenge of waiting for the television premiere of their favourite movies.
“It is to solve the consumers’ challenge. When a movie is theatrically released there is a lot of buzz and excitement around it and movie fans are looking to watch the movie as soon as they can when it reaches the theatre. But by the time it reaches television, there is usually a nine to 12 months window to reach television. So, now that’s what we wanted to solve,” he opined.
Speaking on the deal with Sony Pictures Television, Mahadev said, “With Sony, we have the first output deal. We’ll also curate a lot of movies on &flix using the Sony library and libraries from other partners.”
“The roadmap is to be consumer-focused given that we have got a solid franchise in the form of movies and popular marquee content. We are looking to innovate more and give a better cinematic experience as well as give more viewing options. So we are giving consumers an option to watch it in a script format or binge over the weekends,” he said.
Sharing his thought on &flix’s journey, he said,“&flix recently completed one year and it has reached the top three channels in HD viewership and it is building on brand awareness as a destination for Hollywood blockbuster. It’s a channel which has delivered the most number of premieres in the English movies category.”
