Exhibitor-audience divide over B’luru court ad verdict for theatres
Times of India | 23 February 2025
12 Kolkata: The Bengaluru consumer court's recent direction to PVR INOX to ensure cinema tickets explicitly indicated the actual film commencement time has raised concerns among Kolkata's exhibitors and cinema-goers. While exhibitors said advertising intervals were indispensable for commercial viability, patrons contended the intervals were excessively lengthy and cumbersome, which, diminished their theatrical experience.
The Bengaluru complainant had said 25-odd minutes were lost to ad breaks when he went to watch ‘Sam Bahadur' in 2023. But some city multiplexes claimed the ad breaks were software monitored and had a nine-minute inventory Before Movie Plays (BMP) and a 15-minute ad break during intervals. But not all viewers are impressed. "It is irritating to watch a film with such long commercial breaks. Often, the same ads are repeated half-a-dozen times during the interval. It ruins the connect with the film," said Aparajita Sengupta, a movie-goer in the city.
That is why, Navin Choukhani of Navina said, he did not screen ads at his single screen theatre. "As a policy, we do not run any ad. I value viewers' time and I believe they come to the theatre to watch the film and not the ads," Choukhani said. Arijit Dutta of Priya Cinema broadcasts ads of his personal eco-tourism establishments. "They run for six to seven minutes, encompassing the slots before the film starts and during the interval. Occasionally, I accept external ads. I try to minimise ads as it eats into the showtime. Incorporating extra ads has the risk of making film-watching boring," Dutta said. "Cinema business is not doing well. Long ad duration is such a nuisance that many now wait for films to screen on OTT," said Sujit Kumar Bhukta, former general manager of Carnival Cinemas.
But exhibitors present the flipside to this narrative. Pointing out revenue was a crucial factor, some said even patrons complained if the interval was too brief to visit the washroom. According to them, operating a multiplex or a single-screen theatre requires substantial revenue that ticket sales alone can't sustain. Most multiplexes rely largely on the food and beverage business before the film starts or during the intermission. An advertiser is allocated a slot, depending on factors, like ad durations, multiplex profile, seating capacity and a film's popularity. A Kolkata multiplex, with six screens that has 21 shows weekly, charges around Rs 40,000 a week. A minimum guarantee of screening it thrice per screen per day is provided. A premium is levied for increasing the ad frequency.
An exhibitor told TOI at one point of time, the precise duration of ads preceding a film, the commencement time of the film, interval's beginning, the conclusion of intermission ads and the film's ending time were displayed at Globe's ticket counter. "This is what the Bengaluru consumer court asked for," he said.