Thomson To Launch Technicolor In India

Thomson Multimedia India is looking at new business opportunities to strengthen its position in the country.

The company's new strategies include launching Technicolor's post-production audio and video software duplication and marketing business in a big way. Technicolor is the world's largest manufacturer (duplicator) and distributor of video cassettes, compact discs (CDs) and digital versatile discs (DVD). Technicolor will be launched in the country in the next half of the year.

"The Indian film and music industry offers immense potential. So we are exploring the possibility of launching the Technicolor business. This will operate as a business of Thomson's existing Indian subsidiary," said K Sampath Kumar, senior vice-president (marketing & sales), Thomson Multimedia India.

 

The new business will require buying of music and film rights and development of studio infrastructure, the decisions regarding which are under review at present.

The company may be in talks with a few software owners already, said company sources.

Kumar said that Thomson was also exploring the possibility of outsourcing the studiowork from existing Indian companies. He said the plan outlay will depend on the size of the business and its rollout.

Thomson Multimedia had globally acquired Technicolor, valued at $2.1 billion, from UK's Carlton Communication last year. Besides manufacturing and distributing DVDs and CDs , Technicolor also claims to be a pioneer in digital cinema distribution technology and services. It is also a provider of logistics management services for motion picture release prints, marketing collateral and in-theatre screen advertising.

On February 26, Thomson proposed to acquire Matshusita Electric's Panasonic Disc Services Corporation which is engaged in a similar business.

India could be a potential market for Thomson's new business. According to a study by consultancy firm Andersen, the film industry is expected to generate revenues worth Rs 28,000 crore by 2005, up from Rs 5,000 crore in 1999. The music industry is expected to grow to Rs 3,400 crore, up from Rs 1,300 crore in 1999.

The Technicolor business could also provide it a much required cushioning against not-too-significant television and audio products sales.

While admitting that the company has not been doing well on the audio systems front, Kumar said that Thomson would not be launching any more stand-alone audio systems. It will rather focus on audio-video systems. As part of this plan, the company has launched the 5-in-1 VMP 300 player which combines a VCD player, MP3 player, cassette player, radio and CD player.

As part of the re-look strategy, the company has also decided to focus on DVDs.

Kumar added, "We also plan to launch 32 and 28 inch televisions with built in DVDs in the next three months."