Piracy impacts 92% of regional business

Piracy is having a huge impact on the entertainment industry all across the world, according to a production and distribution firm CEO.

“There’s no country where you don’t have piracy and it’s a matter of concern for everyone in the industry,” said Talaat Captan, CEO of A2 Avalon, production and distribution company providing entertainment material to theatres and TV.

He said counterfiet material and illegal downloading has affected about 92 per cent of the regional business.

He said he is confident that local authorities will defeat piracy but was disappointed with other countries.

“It’s a global problem and every country needs to be part of the effort to stop illegal distribution of material and ensure that companies and artists get the copyright fees that’s legitimately due to them,” he said.

He is particularly concerned about the weaknesses in legislations and enforcement in Lebanon and Jordan.

He also raised concerns over the imports that are available at duty free outlets.

“As a licenced distributor, it’s our duty to provide material that’s almost 90 per cent acceptable to the authorities. Our executives ensure that all programmes are scanned for all kinds of objectionable content but the material that’s brought into the country from the source, be it through internet-based vendors or duty-free outlets, does not go through the same checks,” said Captan.

However, he accepted that even though the problem is big in its scope, it is not a financial loss to the industry.

“I guess the authorities would rather focus on efforts to contain piracy as that has a direct commercial impact on the industry,” he said.

Captan, who launched the company in September, said: “This is the right time to start a business and especially our kind of business. Rents are down, talented staff is available and almost every other thing required for starting and running a business is available and that too at a reasonable price.

“In addition, in times of crisis, like the one we are seeing now, more people are spending time in theatres and at home looking for budget entertainment. This increases TV’s exposure and attracts advertisers,” he said.

“We are not recession proof but our business is not speculative, where economic scenario can have a huge impact. Unlike the real estate or automobiles industries, entertainment industry has been affected less than 15 per cent. This is because we have fixed fees and percentage formula that does not vary. What has impacted us is confidence. But that seems to be coming back as more people are looking for entertainment at home or in theatre,” he said.

A2 Avalon, which has exclusive distribution rights to more than 11,000 hours of films, TV documentaries, soap operas, etc, provides high-quality content for the region’s 400-plus TV channels. It owns one of the largest libraries of independently-produced content in the Arab World. Its operations cover the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and Iran.

Apart from distribution, the company also provides various media-related services, such as consulting, film and HD production, stock footage licencing, post-production and DVD authoring.

In addition to A2’s licenced content, the firm has several in-house productions intended for various media channels, such as DVD, mobilephone content, internet, VOD and airlines.

“We intend to become one of the most sought-after media organisations in the region’s growing entertainment business through our comprehensive database of quality content as well as our in-house productions.

“We are positioning ourselves as leading innovators by continuing to discover new media possibilities and introducing them to our audiences,” he said.

But for that he has to face many local, regional and global problems that are dwarfing the efforts of licenced businesses.

“Almost every film or soap opera is available in pirated form with roadside DVD dealers and if it’s not available with them, it’s only a click away on the internet,” said Captan. “This leaves us with just eight per cent of the market,” he said.

Captan said: “Thanks to the Oscar-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire, India has gained a lot in the international market. It has been a self-contained market for a long time but that seems to be changing as Indians become a large part of the regional audience and as non-Indians start watching Indian movies.”

Captan, who is one of the founders and owners of Prime Pictures, a Middle East-based motion picture distributor, brings 25 years of industry experience to A2.

He has close connections to major Hollywood studios, such as Sony, Paramount, and DreamWorks.

 

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