The Twentieth Century Fox Awards for Excellence in home entertainment was hosted recently in Bali, Indonesia. Nine countries competed for the awards, including India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Excel Home Videos, an Indian company, received two awards in the Highest Growth and Best Theatrical Synergy categories in the home entertainment segment. This was a momentous occasion as it was the first time an Indian company has been honoured with these awards in the home entertainment segment. The other two awards in the segment were bagged by Hong Kong.

The company received the Highest Growth award as it had recorded an astounding growth of 67 percent in the previous financial year. This was despite the buoyant nature of the Indian market and the piracy that continuously threatens the Indian home entertainment DVD market.

The Best Theatrical Synergy award was received by the company for using Theatrical Synergy to boost home video products.

Richard Crook, Vice President, International Licensees, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, said, “These awards are richly deserved for the effort, professionalism and diligence displayed by all at Excel Home Videos. I look forward to another year of significant growth and marketing and creative excellence”.

Product quality, technical brilliance and innovative marketing seem to be the attributes that made all the difference for Excel Home Videos. The company has also gained from its strong presence in a staggering 12,000 retail outlets, possessing the largest DVD catalogue in the country.

Excel Home Videos represents many of the big names in the industry such as Fox, Walt Disney, MGM, Merchant Ivory, HIT, Shringar and EA.

M.N Kapasi, MD, Excel Home Videos commented, “Merely coinciding the release hasn't achieved us the feat. The entire effort has been well coordinated with effective pricing, DVD visibility in stores, innovative advertising among other aspects". The effort was initiated through the DVD re-release of the movie Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and the pre-launch hype of a Sohail Khan starrer, both of which turned out to be massive hits last February. This was followed by the success of Marvel titles, including X-Men 1, X-Men 2, X-Men 3, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Elektra and Daredevil, among others.