We know what content our user base looks for: BookMyShow's Ashish Saksena

BookMyShow Stream is strategic in the sense that it is an extension of the cinema business, says Saksena

BookMyShow Stream debuts this week, joining the likes of Netflix and MX Player, in a market crowded with 60-odd video apps. In a year that has devastated the movie business, it seems logical for India’s largest movie ticketing site to venture into streaming. Where does the Rs 619-crore firm that sold over 200 million tickets annually (before the pandemic) sit in India’s hyper-competitive OTT market? Vanita Kohli-Khandekar spoke to Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer(COO), cinemas, BookMyShow. Edited excerpts:

Why a streaming app?

BookMyShow Stream is strategic in the sense that it is an extension of the cinema business. Once a movie is out of the theatre, one window is still left before it goes onto other AVoD or SVoD (advertising/ subscription video-on-demand) platforms. BookyMyShow Stream sits between the theatrical and subscription platform windows. It is Transaction Video on Demand (TVoD) and targets two segments. One, if you have missed the film in the theatre say Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984 (which are releasing post-theatrical on BookMyShow Stream).

Two, world cinema or films that have been successful on the festival circuit. What we try to get is accessible films that have been successful in their home markets — say Argentina, Spain — direct onto TVoD. Alone, Yes God Yes, and The Peanut Butter Falcon are some of the movies that will be premiering on BookMyShow Stream.

What is the model?

This is a pay per title model. You could rent or buy the film. If you rent a film it is available for 30 days after which the file becomes inaccessible. The price could vary from Rs 40-400 depending on the movie. The moment you start watching a film you have to finish it in 48 hours. It is available across two devices for streaming or download. If you buy it, the price varies from Rs 100-600 for two devices. You can watch it as many times as you like for six months.

What has the reaction been from studios?

We are launching with 600 titles (going to 2,000 over the next 12 months). We have deals with Warner, Sony, Universal, Via­com18, Rajshri, Shemaroo plus with independent distributors and others. These are long-term deals with access to past catalogs, forthcoming films and gives us the flexibility to refresh our content, if needed. For example, if we have 100 films from the Warner catalog, of which only 50 titles are doing well, we can refresh the remaining by choosing other films from their library. The nature of the financial relationship is consistent across studios.

Why have a pay-per-view (PPV) model, why not straight out streaming?

We are not pay-per-view but TVoD because we have data with us. BookMyShow gets 200 million visits a month. We know what content our user base, which purchases tickets on our platform, looks for. We are able to anticipate your behaviour (and choose our films accordingly). Therefore, we say we are curating content.