PVR Inox To Legally Challenge Bengaluru Consumer Court’s Penalty Over Extended Advertisements

PVR Inox is set to challenge the Bengaluru District Consumer Commission's ruling, which deemed the multiplex chain's practice of showing extended advertisements before movies as an unfair trade practice.

In a statement to Moneycontrol, the company expressed its intention to thoroughly review the ruling and is confident in its position, planning to challenge the decision through the appropriate legal channels.

The consumer court imposed a penalty of ₹20,000 on PVR Inox, payable to the complainant for mental distress and time wastage, along with ₹8,000 for legal expenses. Additionally, a ₹1 lakh fine was levied against the company after a consumer, Abhishek MR, filed a complaint regarding a 25-minute delay in screening the movie Sam Bahadur due to advertisements. He argued that the delay caused him to miss other scheduled appointments.

PVR Inox has refuted allegations of unfair trade practices, asserting that it adheres to all legal and regulatory requirements. The issue of long advertisement slots before movie screenings has been a long-standing complaint among consumers, with many joking that arriving late still ensures catching the beginning of a film.

In April 2023, PVR Inox introduced an "ad-free movies" initiative, aiming to reduce pre-show ad durations from 35 minutes to 10 minutes while eliminating commercial breaks during intervals. However, the company has cited slow recovery in cinema advertising revenues as a challenge, with ad rates remaining lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Despite this, PVR Inox reported its highest-ever quarterly ad revenue of ₹148.6 crore in the December quarter, marking a 5.8% sequential increase.