cinemas while competing with other players such as Paytm. DG noted that on average, the OP sells between 000000 tickets for multiplexes and 0000000 tickets for single screen cinemas. The market share of other competitors such as Paytm was considerably small. The OP’s market leadership is also supported by its strong financial position, evidenced by a turnover growth from Rs. 386.07 crores in Financial Year (‘ FY ’) 201718 to Rs. 732.59 crores in FY 2022-23. The DG also noted the OP’s first-mover advantage, having entered the market in 2007. The DG further observed that the economic power of the OP is emphasized by the fact that some of the competitors of the OP like Amazon and Justickets chose to collaborate with OP instead of independently competing within the market. The OP’s strong vertical integration, achieved through acquisitions and joint ventures, also enhanced its competitive position, enabling better services to consumers and cinemas. Further, the DG found that consumers are highly dependent on the OP, as it is the exclusive provider for many cinema chains, offering promotions, cashbacks and discounts that attract and retain a large user base. Entry into the market is challenging due to high financial costs for infrastructure and cinema onboarding, with several players like Fastickets and Justdial exiting in recent years. The DG also found that the OP’s dominance is reinforced by restrictive agreements with major cinemas like PVR and INOX (merged in 2023), limiting their ability to partner with other ticket aggregators, thereby further diminishing any countervailing buyer power. Accordingly, the DG after considering significantly higher market share combined with its vertical integration, dependence of consumers on the enterprise, high entry barriers and lack of countervailing buyer power, concluded that the OP has a dominant position in the ‘market for online intermediation services for booking of movie tickets in India’ .
