CCI imposes penalties on UFO Moviez, others for anti-competitive practice

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday imposed non-monetary and monetary penalties on UFO Moviez India, Scrabble Digital (a wholly owned subsidiary of UFO Moviez), for Rs 1.04 crore, and Qube Cinema Technologies for Rs 1.66 crore, regarding anti-competitive practices.

 

The CCI, in its order, also directed the three companies mentioned to not re-enter lease agreements with cinema theatre owners (CTOs) that impose restrictions on the supply of content from parties other than their own companies.

 

“The Commission (CCI), after considering the nature and gravity of the contravention along with assessment of mitigating and aggravating factors, also imposed monetary penalty on UFO Moviez (along with its subsidiary Scrabble Digital) and Qube Cinema Technologies, amounting to Rs 1.04 crore and Rs 1.66 crore, respectively,” said a release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

 

 

This comes after it was alleged that UFO Moviez entered into anti-competitive agreements with CTOs to help and assist the business of Scrabble Digital, as per the CCI order. UFO Moviez and Qube Cinema Technologies are involved in the supply of digital cinema equipment (DCE) to CTOs, while Scrabble Digital provides Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)-grade digital cinema services.

 

The CCI found that UFO Moviez and Qube Cinema Technologies, through the imposition of restrictions on the supply of content in lease agreements entered into with CTOs, created barriers for players engaged in the provision of post-production processing (PPP) services and blocked a significant portion of CTOs having DCI-compliant DCEs from being served by any other player, stated the PIB release.

 

As per the antitrust body, UFO Moviez and Qube Cinema Technologies were significant players in the relevant market for the supply of DCI-compliant digital cinema equipment on lease or rent to CTOs in the country.