Salman Khan sets a Rs 50cr record by selling satellite rights for Dabangg sequel

MUMBAI: If you have been wondering whatever happened to Chulbul Pandey, news is that the Dabangg star - Salman Khan - will be back this Christmas in a sequel of the 2010 hit. And even before Khan begins shooting for Dabangg2 next week in Mumbai, the satellite rights for the movie have been snapped up by Star Network for a record Rs 48-50 crore for 11 years, according to a trade source closely associated with the deal. Also sold are the music rights, which have been acquired by T-Series for over Rs 10 crore, said the same source.

Though Hemal Jhaveri, senior vice-president at Star Gold confirmed the deal, he refused to share the details of the deal or the price. Jhaveri is responsible for acquiring the satellite rights for Star's Hindi network, which includes Star Plus, Star Gold and Life OK.

Just like his box office record, Khan's satellite ratings have been trailblazing. Bodyguard, another of Khan's blockbusters, registered a record television rating points (TRP) of 10.3 when it was aired on Star Gold in December 2011. The channel expects nothing less, if not more, says Jhaveri, from Dabangg2.

TRP, given in percentages, is a measure of what percentage of people in a defined time band and a defined profile watched a particular programme, a number which is keenly followed by the advertising industry and ads allocated accordingly to the one garnering the higher numbers.

A film is considered a success on TV if it can manage to garner an average 2.5 TRP through the year, apart from the high number it garners on premieres. For example, the ICC Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka last year garnered a TRP of 21 (on three channels - Star Sports, Star Cricket and Doordarshan).

Over the past few years, satellite prices have been playing a key role in bank-rolling films with at least a third of the movie's cost of production coming from selling these rights prior to even beginning production.

A Win-Win Situation for Channel 

 It is also a win-win scenario for the channel, which generates both eyeballs and revenues by exclusively broadcasting a successful movie over a number of years. Competition among TV companies wanting to acquire the rights of hit movies has, as a result, led to an increase in the acquisition price of many recent big films.

Hrithik Roshan's Krissh3 and the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don2 was said to have been sold to Sony for Rs 37 crore each, while Aamir Khan's Talaash and Karan Johar's Agneepath went for Rs 40 crore.

Channels usually spend an average of Rs 200-300 crore a year to acquire film titles for their library. "Increase in satellite prices for big-ticket films has a direct linkage to maximising gross rating points (GRPs), for the channels," says Rakesh Jariwala, film segment leader, Ernst & Young.

Movies contribute as high as 30% to a channel's GRPs. The channels also generate revenue from syndication and overseas subscriptions for the films they buy.
Over the past two years, it's been a close race between Star and Sony, with each raising the stakes with every new film. For Star, with films like Bol Bachchan, Son of Sardar, Ghayal Returns and Housefull 2 all snapped up, the slate for this year looks full while Sony has Aamir Khan's Talaash and YRF's Ek Tha Tiger among others.

"We have built on the content game and we are confident of the returns as well as its ability to garner TRPs beyond the premiere," adds Jhaveri.

While Dabangg, produced by Arbaaz Khan Productions, was acquired by Ashtavinayak Cinevision, the sequel has so far not been sold to any corporate house, although almost every film corporate, including Hollywood studios in India, have been very eager to have it on their slate. Prices offered have ranged between Rs 100 crore and Rs 130 crore, though industry sources say in all likelihood the brothers will release the film themselves, after the success of Johar's Agneepath.

Star Network's recent track record with Bodyguard, Singham and Ra.One, all notching up record TRPs, has also worked hugely in its favour. And with Star also holding a strong portfolio of Salman Khan's films - Dabangg, Wanted, Ready, Bodyguard, Tere Naam, Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya- for 7-8 years, backing a Khan package may help garner more eyeballs.