Star Network has acquired more than 500 films from Colors in a deal believed to be worth Rs 350-400 crore. The films were a part of the acquisition that the general entertainment channel, owned by the Viacom 18 Group, had made for the movie channel it was supposed to launch last year, but eventually deferred it.
The 500-plus films include blockbusters like Salman Khan's Dabangg, Ready, Golmaal 3, Tees Maar Khan, Thank You, No One Killed Jessica, Guzaarish, Kites and Raavan, among others.
"We want to be the one-stop default destination for all forms of entertainment, and now with this library, we can also be the destination across all genres of films over the next few years," said Star India CEO Uday Shankar, speaking exclusively to ET.
Colors CEO Raj Nayak said that as part of an overall strategy, they have sold a part of their film library. "We have a very large library acquired over four years and this is a part of it. But we have retained the rights to a certain number of airings of some of the films as well.
So, we have kept enough runs to take care of our main channel's needs." The deal will help monetise the large number of films they had bought over the years, said Nayak. Sharing of airings means that the two channels will show the films in a mutual agreement.
Source: Economic Times?
