Vijayawada : CCI orders probe into film ticket booking portal

Vijayawada : The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered the director general of police (DGP) to investigate and find out whether the conduct of the BookMyShow, the online ticket booking portal of movies, has resulted in contravention of the provisions of the Section 4 of the Competition Commission Act.

The commission heard the arguments of both BookMyShow and Showtyme portal who informed the commission about the dominant position BookMyShow has been enjoying in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and rest of the country in booking the cinema tickets.

The Showtyme alleged that the BookMyShow had given interest-free loans and cash deposits to the exhibitors for acquiring the exclusive rights of selling tickets. It was also alleged that it was charging Rs 25 per ticket from the customer and when the Showtyme offered to charge only Rs 11, it was not given a chance to sell the tickets.

The Showtyme also alleged that BookMyShow is also abusing its dominant position under Section 4 of the Act by imposing unfair and discriminatory conditions on the theatres/ multiplexes, making them sign contracts for sale of 100 per cent tickets on its platform.

BookMyShow contended that it follows a standard form of contract and commercial terms and duration of the agreements with each cinema/ theatre/ multiplex is negotiated as per their requirement.

It is entitled to charge convenience fee from customers for facilitation of booking of tickets through its mobile app and website. It also stated that that the sharing of convenience fee is negotiated between BookMyShow and the cinemas/theatres/multiplexes concerned.

The sharing proportions of the convenience fee may vary based upon the agreed commercial terms. It has been pointed out that no evidence has been filed in respect of the allegation that BookMyShow holds 90 per cent market share in movie ticket booking industry in India.

BoomMyShow also stated that allegations of creating entry barrier are misleading as the market is still evolving and volatile in nature. It is stated that various participants entered into the market such as PayTM and it has established significant presence in the relevant market.

After perusing the material on record and available in the public domain, the commission noted that the grievance of the Showtyme pertains to exclusive agreement/ arrangement between BookMyShow and certain theatres/ multiplexes whereby the Showtyme is allegedly prevented from offering the services of his website Showtyme to cinemas for online booking of tickets.

This exclusivity, according to the Showtyme, is being crafted by BookMyShow by offering huge monetary deposits to such cinema theatres. It is also alleged that more than 50 per cent of total tickets is offered to customers through online booking which is in violation of the Telangana government's instructions. In view of these observations, that the commission opined that it required a thorough investigation. It directed the DGP to conduct the investigation and file the report in 60 days.