Movie satellite rights earn film-makers millions

Over the last few days, we have been hearing of TV channels acquiring the rights of films for an exorbitant sum of money. In today's age, we know that a new movie can be watched in the confines of our homes without spending a penny and only within a few months after its release. Box Office collections are often unpredictable so for film-makers, satellite TV channels are the best bets. At times, channels buy the telecast rights post release or if it's a very popular movies then much before its release. Later, they show the movie on a festival or any special day for maximum TRP ratings.

Let's take a look at some of the recent movies that were bought by TV channels for a fortune

Ravi Teja's Power: The movie is still in its production stage and all set to release in theatres by August end. But that didn't stop Gemini TV to grab the telecast rights of the movie. According to trade analysts, Gemini paid a whopping Rs 7.5 cr for the satellite rights of the movie.

Karthikeya: The movie happens to be the directorial debut of Chandoo Mondeti. The trailer is impressive, the audio launch too was unique. And just when the film-makers announced that the film will hit theatres on August 1, Gemini acquired the satellite rights for Rs 1.4cr which is a rarity as it's a low budget movie which hasn't seen much promotions till now.

Manam: There was also buzz that Gemini bought the license to telecast the Akkineni family multi-starrer for a whopping Rs 8 crores.

Chennai Express: The Yo Yo Honey Singh song Lungi dance gave enough publicity to the movie. But Zee Networks made it more popular after aquiring the satellite rights for Rs 40 cr.

Dabangg: The film was declared a box office hit right from Day 1. Star Network bought the license to show the movie and it costed them Rs 44 cr.

Jai Ho: The Hindi remake of the Telugu hit Stalin which starred megastar Chiranjeevi. The Salman Khan movie bombed at the Box office. However, the buzz was that the movie's telecast rights were bought by Star network for a whopping amount.

Krrish 3: Hrithik Roshan's superhero movie was a super duper hit which raked in millions at the Box Office. The satellite rates too earned the makers Rs 38cr.

Dhoom 3: The film did not rake in the expected moolah at the Box office. However, the satellite rights fetched the makers Rs 75 cr which was bought by Sony television.

How is the right sold and on what basis is the price decided? According to a trade analyst, "Satellite right is the legal permission given by the producer of a film to a Television channel to show (broadcast) the film on TV. It may be for a limited time period or for lifetime. There will be many clauses and conditions like the film can be shown in TV only after a particular time period etc."

Today, satellite rights play majorly contributes to a film funding. If the film has a big star cast, TV channels are willing to pay huge amounts for satellite rights. But if there are no big names in the movie, most of the time the movie has to release and prove itself to be taken by the channel.

"The satellite rights are mostly sold like an auction- Who pays more will get the right to air the film. Also it will increase the popularity of the channel. In the meantime, the channel plays the film many times and gets the money back through advertisements," signs off the trade analyst.

The trend which started in 2011 is here to stay. And guess what? The prices have doubled.