Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; December 29, 2014)

An apparent breakdown of dialogue between television channels and film producers has prevented several producers from selling the satellite rights over the past few months. The Aamir Khan-starrer PK is the latest film to join the league.

Says a source, “Over the last six months, no satellite deals have been finalised due to a standoff between the channels and the film producers.” Very little buying is currently taking place in the film satellite market as most producers are holding back their rights for not getting a fair amount for their film, the source suggests. “Earlier, the satellite deal used to help recover nearly 40 per cent of the film cost but not anymore,” adds the source.

2014 has not been a very good year for the Bollywood box office. A senior member of the satellite market says, “There are producers who are ready to sell their films at a distress price as their films have not made money at the box office. But there are a number of big ticket films that released this year which have not sold their satellite rights yet as they are not getting their due price. This includes films that have earned Rs 100 crore through a theatre release.”