[Commons-Law] moser baer

[Prashant Iyengar]

>From the company's latest quarterly results
<Snip>
In the entertainment space, customer response has been overwhelming. In six
months since inception, the company has been instrumental in *expanding the
perceived size of the legitimate domestic market by 8-9 times *through its
disruptive pricing strategy. With the acquisition of 900 titles from Ultra
Video, Moser Baer has acquired more than 9500 titles in all major Indian
languages constituting over 45% of mainstream cinema in India.
</snip>

Elsewhere, it is reported that while the original home video volume is
around 25 million per annum, pirated home video is close to 250 million.
Moser Baer's aim is to convert 50% of the "pirated home video market". "Ours
is not a price war but a war against piracy and the slow growth of the
market".
http://www.moserbaer.in/buy_fantasia_business_conomy10jan08.pdf

So Moser Baer is experimenting with this ridiculously radical notion that
market sizes could be determined by price, and that piracy and "original
home video" cater to different markets.
I think this is the first I've ever heard of any industry dignifying piracy
with the status of a "home video market"!

Prashant




*Date:20/02/2008* *URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/20/stories/2008022060050200.htm*
------------------------------
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Karnataka <http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/20/22hdline.htm> - Bangalore

* It's a bonanza for movie buffs *
Swathi Shivanand * A brand is trying to break the stranglehold of pirated
CDs *

* Goodbye to piracy: Video stores report a shift of loyalties from pirated
versions to originals *

BANGALORE: While prices of essential commodities are hitting the roof, that
of another commodity — the compact disc and the digital versatile disc —
continues to spiral downwards. Hitting the piracy industry where it hurts —
the pricing — a big company (it's always the big companies) has brought in a
mini revolution of sorts in movie watching.

Moser Baer has brought to the market old classics on CDs for as low as Rs.
30 and on DVDs for Rs. 39. The new releases are Rs. 34 for CDs and Rs. 49
for DVDs. So films such as the classic *Kora Kaagaz* starring Sanjeev Kumar
Jaya Bhaduri and recent hits such as *Jab We Met* featuring Shahid Kapoor
and Kareena Kapoor are flying off shelves like never before.

Hasan M., manager of the Crossword store on Residency Road, says: "For the
past five or six months since it was brought to the market, we have been
selling at least about 200 Moser Baer CDs and DVDs a day. Most people buy
these discs in bulk not only because of its low pricing but also because it
offers a wide collection."

Radhika K., a cine buff, says that it is a boon for people like her who can
barely make the time to go to theatres. "Besides, where will I get a ticket
for such low prices?" she asks.

Video stores in the city also report a large scale shift of loyalties from
pirated versions to originals. "While pirated versions cost Rs. 80, the
originals with guaranteed good quality are only Rs. 30. All my customers are
asking for these CDs and DVDs," says Suresh Kumar of Disc World on
Commercial Street.

It is not a trend that video stores owner are quite in favour of. On Kamaraj
Road, a video store owner, requesting anonymity in case of police raids,
says: "We used to get a lot more margin with pirated versions. Because of
that, we could lower prices to attract customers. With Moser Baer, the
margin we get is barely Rs. 2 or Rs. 3, so there is not much price slashing
we can do."
 Windfall

For Kannada movie buffs, films old and new, even in pirated forms, have
never been in circulation. Filling this void, Moser Baer has acquired rights
for old gems like *Kasturi Nivasa* and *Bandhana*, apart from 18 movies of
our Annavaru Dr. Rajkumar. "From 1950s to present day, we have the rights of
hundreds of movies in our kitty," says Mohan Kumar S., Moser Baer consultant
in the city.

Increasing its already impressive regional collection is one of Moser Baer's
targets for the recent future. "After a massive response for movies like *
Malla* and *Duniya*, we are planning to buy rights for many more new
releases," says G. Dhananjayan, Chief Operating Officer, Moser Baer.
* *

(c) Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu
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