Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM), the global leader in digital cinema, today announced a long-term VPF deployment agreement with Metropolitan Theatres Corporation (“Metropolitan”).
This Cinedigm-financed conversion will deploy 82 Cinedigm-Certified™ screens, with installation expected to be completed later this Fall. Metropolitan will utilize systems from Barco.
Metropolitan currently operates 16 theatres in California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and British Columbia.
The transition from 35mm film projection, which has been used for 110 years, to digital projection systems is a worldwide motion picture industry effort and the costs to deploy this new technology are covered primarily through the payment of virtual print fees (VPF) from studios to implementation companies. Cinedigm's digital cinema division facilitates funding, installation and operations support, along with ongoing VPF administration, for the company's digital cinema rollout plans. Cinedigm has signed long-term VPF agreements with all the major studios and interim agreements with over one hundred independent distributors.
“Metropolitan has been very diligent in evaluating their conversion options and we are thrilled they have chosen to work with us,” said Gary Loffredo, Cinedigm’s President of Digital Cinema Services. “We know David and his team will immediately benefit from the many enhancements digital cinema offers, both from the operational side as well as the consumer viewing experience.”
Metropolitan’s President, David Corwin, stated, “We are excited to complete our transition to digital cinema with the support of experienced industry leaders Cinedigm and Barco. They will be great partners in the continuously changing landscape of theatrical exhibition and the many new opportunities presented.”
In its combined Phase One and Phase Two digital cinema deployment program, Cinedigm has:
- Signed 11,474 screens overall
- Installed 10,787 digital screens (as of 9/14)
- Signed digital screens deals with 259 exhibitors
Cinedigm digital theaters are fully networked, turnkey systems – simple and cost-efficient to operate.
