PVR INOX Addresses Consumer Court Rulings on Lengthy Cinema Ads

In recent consumer court cases, PVR INOX was held liable for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices due to lengthy advertisements shown before film screenings. A Hyderabad-based man filed a complaint after watching 22 minutes of advertisements during a screening of Kubera, leading to a consumer court order for compensation and litigation costs. Similarly, a Bengaluru patron previously approached the Consumer Court over nearly 25 minutes of commercials and trailers during Sam Bahadur, resulting in another compensation order against the multiplex chain.

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director of PVR INOX Limited, addressed the issue in an interview, noting that the chain has reduced its ad time. “We have also reduced our ad time from 15-18 minutes to 10 minutes, which we thought was a sweet spot and which we thought wasn’t compromising on the viewing experience,” Bijli stated. He added, “At the end of the day, we want to make sure that the moviegoing experience does not get compromised by anything. As of now, we have reached a sweet spot as far as ad time is concerned. Hopefully, that’ll be palatable and acceptable to everyone.”