Hindi
Pyramid Saimira buys 51% in Dimples Cine Advertising; plans UK subsidiary
MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Group has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Dimples Cine Advertising and Dimples Cine Activations for an undisclosed amount.
Dimples Cine promoter Kamal Karamchandani will further dilute 23 per cent through private placement. “We will retain 26 per cent and dilute the rest to other investors. The valuation is confidential at this stage,” says Karamchandani.
Pyramid Saimira expects the topline to benefit by Rs 1.5 billion in FY‘09 due to the acquisition of the cinema advertising company. “Dimples Cine will automatically reach out to 1000 theatres and have geographical and customer diversity. Besides, they will also be targeting business from non Pyramid theatres. We are aiming at a topline rise of Rs 1.5 billion from this in FY‘09, says Pyramid Saimira Theatre MD PS Saminathan.
Dimples Cine, which offers services for both on-screen as well as off-screen advertising, has rights to 250 screens for advertisements. Pyramid currently has 703 screens.
The target is to have access to 4,000 screens by 2010, Saminathan said. Pyramid plans to have grown to 2000 screens by then. “We plan to ramp up Dimples‘ access to 4000 theatres. We will have signage as well as out-of-home content. The advantage is that we will have content, distribution and marketing under one umbrella. This also brings a huge ability for us to cross promote on the platform because we have theaters, films, TV news media as well as the magazines. So to an advertiser Pyramid is a complete media company, which can give a huge amount of eyeball mileage across different segmental platforms,” says Saminathan.
Dimples Cine Advertising would continue to remain headquartered in Mumbai, while becoming a part of the Pyramid Saimira Group universe.
Keynote Corporate Services was the advisor to Pyramid Saimira for this transaction.
As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Pyramid Saimira Productions Ltd (PSPL), a subsidiary company for film and TV production business, is planning to float an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 1.5 billion.
Recently, Pyramid Saimira acquired Texas-based FunAsiA through its subsidiary – Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America Inc.
Pyramid is also planning to float a subsidiary company in London to target the European market. “We may look at acquiring a company in the range of $100 million. For the US and Europe operations, we are going to reach out to the Asian diaspora. In the South East Asian region, on the other hand, we are setting up native theatre chains,” says Saminathan.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
