Eros International ties-up with Sony Entertainment, Sahara

Mumbai, Mar 31 (UNI) The Indian arm of Eros International today announced signing up of a series of major television syndication deals for a slate of recently released as well as library films with two of the leading Indian global television networks - Sony Entertainment Television and Sahara Television Network.

The deal with Sahara gives the channel access to 35 blockbuster library films such as ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'', ''Devdas'' and ''Hey Ram'' to name a few. The deal with Sony Entertainment Television allows them to premiere a slate of 16 new films including current blockbusters from 2007-08 such as ''Om Shanti Om'', ''Heyy Babyy'' and several other films, Eros said in a release.

The terms and structure of these new syndication deals demonstrate the incremental opportunities to exploit both new releases and catalogue of Indian entertainment content in the face of growing consumer demand. Eros, with its extensive film library of over 1,300 titles and consistent 25-30 new releases every year, is uniquely positioned to benefit from this trend. Apart from licensing to the leading Indian television networks, Eros has also concluded several deals during the year with television platforms around the world like Dubai Television, Abu Dhabi Television, RTM Malaysia, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation and National TV Romania to name a few.

The rapidly growing USD six billion Indian television sector has been experiencing growth at 21 per cent compounded annual growth rate. The Indian television sector had seen the leading players like Zee, Sony, Star, Sahara be joined by Inx, NDTV Imagine, ViacomTV18 and several other such players. This had allowed content owners like Eros to syndicate limited telecast rights to be shared between three to four channels for a limited period rather than licensing exclusive rights to any one channel for a longer period.

Eros International India Director and President Sunil Lulla, commenting on the agreements, said, ''We have enjoyed a great relationship with Sony over the years, who like Eros have been trendsetters in their space. I am delighted we were able to conclude another innovative deal with them this year. We have had business dealing with Sahara for many years now, but this is the first time we have licensed them a slate of films for television exploitation and hope to continue to do more deals with them in the future.'' UNI VK NM MSJ AS1710