Hollywood
Cinépolis to accept UPI payments through HSBC
NEW DELHI: Cinépolis, which claims to be India’s first international and the world’s fourth largest Cineplex chain, has launched a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) across all its multiplexes in the country as part of the current government’s ‘go-cashless’ and digital economy drive.
Patrons and cinema lovers can have the convenience of transaction through UPI which operates on the concept of a Virtual Payment Address (VPA).
Cinépolis is India’s first movie theatre chain where customers can pay through UPI at the offline stores. This payment solution is implemented by HSBC bank across all Cinépolis outlets.
Cinépolis India CFO Rodrigo Perez Morales said: “This will prove to be a game changer for the multiplex industry as it will lessen the cost of transactions along with a quicker checkout experience. Our patrons can now watch movies without worrying about the cash payment as UPI will smoothly allow the transition to a cashless economy by providing a unique identity (VPA) for any consumer holding a smart phone and a bank account. We are hopeful that we will have a phenomenal response and all our customers will gradually adapt to Unified Payment Interface.”
Cinépolis India director – India strategic initiatives Devang Sampat added, “With a strong drive of encouraging digital transactions, we are delighted to partner with HSBC India and launch Unified Payments Interface across all our properties. UPI allows users to send and receive money through their smartphones with the help of VPA (Virtual Payment Address). Patrons will just have to share their VPA at the booking counter and they will receive one notification on their mobile app to approve the transaction. In future, we will keep on adding new digital mode of payments at Cinépolis to give our patrons options to transact digitally.”
HSBC India managing director and head global liquidity and cash management. Divyesh Dalal said, “The UPI solution will now allow movie lovers to pay seamlessly for tickets and food and beverage across various Cinépolis locations in India thus providing a superior customer experience. It will also help to reduce the average waiting time”.
“Given the enhanced coverage, interoperability and cost dynamics of the UPI solution, we expect the acceptance of UPI-based payments to increase over time. Our UPI offering aims at providing a channel agnostic collection solution to corporates, which will enable Cinépolis to drive sales through increased digitization of flows,” he added.
The partnership between Cinépolis and HSBC India is aimed at encouraging movie patrons to increasingly transact using digital and cashless options.
UPI was launched by National Payments Corporation of India along with Reserve Bank of India to enable the consumers to make payments through their smartphones. It is basically an interface through which account holder of one bank can transfer/receive money to someone having account in same/different bank through a smartphone. There is no need for sharing each other’s bank account details. There is also no need for swiping debit/credit card, keying in your confidential PIN.
Cinépolis India started its operations in India in 2009 at Amritsar and currently operates 291 screens under the brand names of Cinépolis, Cinépolis VIP and Fun Cinemas.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance to fuse HBO Max and Paramount+ in $110 billion megadeal
Ellison vows reinvention, not retrenchment, as combined group eyes 200m subscribers and $69 billion revenue
LOS ANGELES: Streaming’s latest land grab is colossal. Paramount Skydance Corp. will combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform after signing a $110 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc..
The transaction, formally inked on 27 February, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Paramount agreed to pay $31 per share in cash, fending off rival suitors including Netflix Inc..
On a conference call, chief executive officer David Ellison confirmed the streaming tie-up. HBO Max, with 131m subscribers, and Paramount+, with 79m, would be merged into one platform. Yet HBO, he stressed, would endure as a brand even after integration.
“Across the two platforms, there are over 200 million D2C subscribers today in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide, positioning us to compete effectively with the leading streaming services in today’s marketplace,” Ellison said.
The pitch is scale with swagger. The combined entity expects to generate $69 billion in pro-forma revenue in 2026, with estimated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $18 billion, according to chief financial officer Dennis Cinelli. Net debt is projected at $79 billion.
Ellison was emphatic that the strategy is expansionary. The group is targeting at least 30 theatrical releases annually across its studios and does not plan to cut production. “This is not about consolidation, it’s about reinventing the business,” he said.
Sport will be central to that reinvention. Ellison highlighted rights to the National Football League, Ultimate Fighting Championship, March Madness, the PGA Tour and the Olympics in Europe. A previously signed $7.7 billion UFC deal offers flexibility to air events on Warner Bros.’ TNT network, he added.
The future of certain legacy investments remains murky. Warner Bros. Discovery holds less than 10 per cent of AEW, whose television rights deal for TBS, TNT and HBO Max runs through 2027, with an option to extend to 2028. It is unclear whether that stake would be divested or retained post-merger.
Paramount said it has no plans to spin off its cable networks. A shareholder vote is expected in the spring, chief operating officer Andy Gordon said.
Funding the takeover is as muscular as the ambition. Paramount has secured $47 billion in equity backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners, alongside $54 billion in borrowing from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo Global Management Inc..
Investors were cautious. Paramount shares slipped 1.9 per cent to $13.26 in morning trading in New York.
If regulators sign off, the deal will redraw the streaming map — welding together premium drama, blockbuster film, live sport and global distribution under one roof. In the battle for eyeballs, Paramount Skydance is betting that bigger is not just better, but unbeatable.
