Sony Pictures ink deal with Eros to produce, distribute Indian movies

Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS) Sony Pictures Entertainment and Eros International plc announced Wednesday that they would jointly develop, produce and acquire multiple Bollywood films and distribute them in various parts of the world.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corp of America, is expected to distribute some of the titles in the US. Eros will use its wide infrastructure to distribute the films in other international territories.

The two companies will, however, work jointly in India. Sony Picture's chairman and CEO Michael Lyton and Eros International's chairman and CEO Kishore Lulla made the announcement in London Wednesday.

'This deal continues Sony Pictures dedication to the region as we embrace and support local talent and invest in films made specifically for audiences in India and the Indian diaspora,' said Lyton.

'We have a strong track record of film and television production and distribution in India and we are proud that Eros International, the leading player within the Indian entertainment arena, will be working with us to find unique and inventive films for Indian audiences and fans of Indian cinema everywhere,' he added.

'I am delighted to establish this important relationship between Eros and Sony Pictures. I am excited by the potential benefits to both parties from working together and pleased that Sony chose Eros as its Indian partner,' said Lulla.

Sony Pictures owns a majority stake in the Sony Entertainment Television channel in India and Eros has an option to own 24 percent of the television channel B4U Network.

Eros has built a successful business model around the release of 30-40 new films every year and the exploitation of a film library containing more than 1,300 titles, making it one of the largest content owners in the business.