Paytm is apparently giving established player BookMyShow a run for its money in the online movie ticket booking space, selling almost one lakh tickets everyday within four months of foraying into the space dominated by BookMyShow.
The competition is likely to intensify even as the potential is huge, given the growing number of Internet users in India and the low base of online ticket booking currently in the country.
A captive base of about 130 million users is enabling Paytm to make inroads into the thriving space with the predominant segment of audience — the young and tech-savvy — preferring the online mode to book tickets. India's Internet base had reached about 400 million by June this year, according to the 2016 edition of the annual Internet Trends report.
Paytm said it will increase its tie-ups with multiplexes to enhance its new line of business.
"Currently, Paytm has over 2250 screens for which tickets can be booked online. This number will increase to 3000 screens in the coming months. Paytm's list of tie-ups in the movie industry includes PVR, Cinepolis, Inox, Wave, Miraj, MovieTime, Gold Cinemas and multiple other chains & single screen theatres," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company also has plans to eye single-screen movie halls to boost its online movie ticket sales.
"Paytm will also bring offline single screens on its platform over a period of time. This will take the reach of Paytm deeper and further in this space, and also aid the theatre owners in filling up seats," Renu Satti, Vice President - Paytm, said.
In India, online movie ticket booking accounts for about 15 percent of the total movie ticket sales estimated at about Rs. 13,000 crore, of which Hindi films alone account for about Rs. 3,000 crore.
BigTree Entertainment Pvt Ltd., which owns BookMyShow, recently raised Rs. 550 crore in its latest round of fund-raising in which existing investors SAIF Partners and Accel Partners also participated.
Besides movies, BookMyShow also allows users to book tickets for plays, sports and live events via its website, app and mobile site.
In March this year, BigTree Entertainment acquired a majority stake in Chennai based fan relationship management (FRM) solutions provider, Fantain Sports Pvt. Ltd.
