Indiantelevision.com
MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures has signed up The Walt Disney Studios to distribute some of its recent and key titles on home video.
As part of the new arrangement, The Walt Disney Studios will distribute Raajneeti and I Hate Luv Storys, Udaan, India’s official selection for the Academy Awards Harishchandrachi Factory, What’s Your Raashee? and Aage Se Right for which Disney’s Home Entertainment division will handle the distribution and marketing.
Said The Walt Disney Company, India MD Mahesh Samat, “We are happy to be working with UTV once again through our home entertainment business distributing and marketing key titles from their slate on Blu-ray discs, DVDs and VCDs to audiences throughout India. Disney India’s home entertainment business went direct early last year and in addition to distributing our own Disney titles, by working with key titles from UTV’s film slate, we continue to bring great stories and content to the small screens, entertaining families and children all over India.”
This distribution agreement adds to the Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment’s growing retail presence. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is also looking for more local opportunities to provide Indian viewers with a more diverse range of content across genres and languages.
Said UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “The Walt Disney Company India has established a strong foothold in the home entertainment space within a short span of time and we at UTV are happier to partner with them for some of our key titles.”
In December 2008, UTV Software Communications had entered into a strategic alliance with Moser Baer Entertainment Limited (MBEL), selling its exclusive home video distribution rights for 25 movies.
As per the alliance, MBEL got domestic rights to UTV’s home video catalogue which comprised 10 Bollywood films. Moser Baer Entertainment also got home video rights to all UTV productions released until mid 2009.
The releases that followed later like Qurbaan, Wake Up Sid and Chance Pe Dance were dealt will individually until the new deal with Walt Disney Company India.