Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) (formerly AccessIT) today announced the success of the January 8th, first ever, nationwide theatrical broadcast of a live sports event in 3-D. Cinedigm carried Thursday’s FedEx BCS National Championship Game between the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma to 80 theatres in 31 states. Thousands of fans attended, selling out 19 of the theatres. Cinedigm’s world-leading network of digitally equipped theatres across the U.S. is the only one capable of bringing a live 3-D event like this to theatre audiences.
The BCS Championship in 3-D grossed more than four times higher than the best per screen movie gross for the same evening.
"The fan turnout shows the incredible level of interest in live 3-D and digital cinema. Our sincere thanks and congratulations to Sony and Fox Sports for their incredible support for this historic broadcast and to 3Ality for capturing the game for us," said Bud Mayo, Chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. "There are so many great sporting events and other kinds of entertainment that can now be brought to consumers across the country with digital cinema technology. Cinedigm is the only company that can distribute live 3-D on a national scale and we hope to see everyone back for Cinedigm’s live 3-D broadcast of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 14th.”
“We were delighted to have produced for Cinedigm the first ever national 3-D broadcast of the BCS Championship to fans across the country,” said Sandy Climan, CEO of 3ality Digital. “The uniqueness of their CineLive satellite network, together with their industry leading distribution and marketing expertise made them the perfect partner for this groundbreaking event, and we’re looking forward to making history with them again in the future. “
“Cinedigm’s execution was excellent,” said Michael Karagosian, MKPE Consulting.
“Cinedigm’s effort in bringing the BCS Championship game to theatres deserves a round of applause,” said Chuck Viane, distribution president, The Walt Disney Studios’ Motion Pictures. “The company’s ability to provide this event on a nationwide scale is truly unique in these pioneering days of 3-D events. As Disney is a company that is committed to the benefits of 3-D movies we commend Cinedigm, too, for their innovation in digital cinema and now in live 3-D events.”
“It was evident that football fans and techies in the audience loved this event. We’re looking forward to bringing the NBA All-Star Saturday night to Rave customers as well, and to future live 2-D and 3-D Cinedigm events,” said Tom Stephenson, CEO of Rave Motion Pictures.
One group, a father and his two sons who attended the event shared the following: Alex Kayaian, a 15 yr old high school student and member of the JV Mamaroneck, NY High School football team said: “I thought it was awesome, unlike anything I had ever seen before!”
Peter Kayaian, also a high school student and member of the JV Mamaroneck, NY High School football team said: “It was amazing. I felt like I was REALLY on the field! When is the next time they are doing this?”
Paul Kayaian, an international media and marketing consultant, said, “It was fabulous! The clarity and consistency of the picture was astounding and the 3-D effects were brilliant. All the pieces were terrific: the sound quality, the camera-work, the top-quality 3-D visuals, all in a grand movie theatre setting, complete with popcorn, made for a compelling and genuinely exciting experience.”
“In developing CineLiveTM we’ve made it easy for theatres to be a part of our network and to play live events like the BCS Championship for their local audiences. While we’d completed all the tests we felt necessary well before this event, we’re thrilled that the technology lived up to our expectations on game-day and that we were able to bring it to so many fans at our network of Cinedigm Certified Theatres,” said B. Scott Cassell, VP of Operations of Cinedigm Media Services Division.
Private tests and select-theatre showings of live, 3-D sporting events had been conducted before this but the BCS championship game from Cinedigm was the first to bring it to fans across the country. Cinedigm’s next big event will be on February 14th for the NBA All-Star Saturday Night and will once again be broadcast to more than 80 theaters across 31 states, live, and in 3-D.