Mobile Talkies

Airtel too recently launched their own movie library,Airtel Talkies,and followed it up with another product — pre-release audio promos of films,starting with My Name Is Khan. “Then came The Japanese Wife and the initiative has been extremely successful,” says Shireesh Joshi,Director-Marketing,Mobile Services,Bharti Airtel.

Similar services are today available across most phone networks where the key film dialogues and songs are woven together into a 15-minute audio file with a narrator who bridges the gap. Such services are typically available through monthly or weekly subscriptions with prices ranging from Rs 30 to Rs 10 depending on the service provider.

UTV’s New Media division,one of the key entertainment content creators,has already built a 1.5 million consumer base in nine months since their launch. For the same,UTV has tied up with most of the big service providers across India. “The chief part of our customer base comes from small towns where the lack of electricity and malls makes the mobile phone their main form of entertainment. The fact that we have a library of over 300 films — a combination of old hits and new releases in Hindi as well as regional languages — helps broaden this base,” explains Manish Agarwal,CEO,UTV New Media. The company launches its next product in May — they have planned an “on-the-sets” initiative that will kick off with UTV’s home production Raajneeti. “Access to a celebrity and voice-based contests are up next on the agenda,” reveals Agarwal.

Apart from the audio-based entertainment services,Vodafone also has Vodafone TV that offers the option of streaming more than 50 channels on a GPRS phone at Rs 150/month. However,Madhvendra Das,head of public relations at Vodafone,feels that the real revolution in the entertainment arena will take place when 3G services (allow higher bandwidth of streaming data) percolate to the bottom of the user pyramid. “Once that happens,the user will be able to enjoy cinema’s complete experience on their cell phones,” Das says.

Meanwhile,music sales remain at the core of the entertainment business. Available at as low as Re 1 per song,this service makes for the most popular one offered across service providers. Joshi claims that Airtel’s revenue generated from selling music through the mobile phone network is today larger than that of HMV and Sa Re Ga Ma combined. “We sold 220 million pieces of music last year. The Airtel radio,which works like a juke box,is our strongest product in the market.”