Tribunal re-opens case filed by K Sera Sera against Digital Cinema

K Sera Sera Digital Cinema Ltd had earlier filed a complaint against Digital Cinema Initiatives and joint venture of leading Hollywood studios for their unfair business practices in India.

Now, the Tribunal has asked Director General of CCI to revisit the complaint and do proper investigation on the complaint filed by K Sera Sera Digital Cinema Ltd.

According to the filed complaint, it was alleged that these entities indulged in anti-competitive practices in the digital cinema exhibition market.

The complaint was filed against US-based Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC, which is a joint venture, and its six stakeholder partners -- The Walt Disney Company -, Fox Star Studio, NBC Universal Media Distribution Services, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and Paramount Films India.

Speaking on the current development, Mr. Rahul Kanani, CEO, KSS Digital Cinema Ltd, said, "We welcome this positive move. With the review, we hope that CCI will take the necessary steps as per the directives of Tribunal to help players like us to operate seamlessly and provide a platform to all competing players to mutually operate in the market. If implemented, it will further help to increase the distribution of Hollywood movies in Indian market."

The complaint alleges that Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC is a cartel through which the opposite parties are deciding the price of movie hall tickets by forcing the cinema owners to install expensive DCI-compliant servers and projectors. Hence, theatre owners are deprived from exhibiting Hollywood movies because of the possession of non-DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) compliant equipment, and such restrictions crush the relatively small and technologically independent players in the market.

Those exhibitors who want to use E-cinema technology instead of D-cinema technology for screening of Hollywood films are getting excluded from the line of business. Moreover, by virtue of enforcing technical regulations, DCI is able to limit or control the distribution of films and force competition out in the process.