Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (“Cinedigm”) (NASDAQ:CIDM) today announced an agreement with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. by which Warner Bros. will supply movies in DCI-compliant digital form to Cinedigm-installed theaters in the United States and Canada. The Warner Bros. Domestic Distribution agreement represents another major milestone in Cinedigm’s Phase Two Digital Cinema Deployment Plan, which is designed to eventually deliver content to as many as 10,000 additional digital cinema projection systems. Warner Bros. will also pay Virtual Print Fees (VPFs) to promote conversion to DCI-compliant digital cinema technology.
Warner Bros. was an early supporter of Cinedigm’s Phase One Deployment Program. During Cinedigm’s Phase One deployment, which commenced in the fall of 2005 and was completed in the fall of 2007, more than 3,700 digital cinema systems were converted from film across the United States.
“Cinedigm’s success with its Phase One wide-scale deployment is unparalleled. Warner Bros. is proud to be Cinedigm’s partner in their Phase Two program bringing, more high quality digital movies to theatres and their patrons across the U.S. and Canada,” said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Warner Bros. has been from the start a strong proponent of the transition to digital cinema,” said Bud Mayo, chairman and chief executive officer of Cinedigm. “We are proud to announce their support of Cinedigm’s Phase Two Deployment Plan. The momentum for this deployment is clearly building on both the distribution side and the exhibition side and we are delighted to be leading the way.”
Chuck Goldwater, president of Cinedigm’s Media Services Group, said, “Throughout the years Warner Bros. has been leading the industry in both quantity and quality of movies at the boxoffice. We are thrilled to have their continued commitment for our digital cinema deployment program. Their valued partnership is a keystone to helping us move ahead toward our goal of another ten thousand digital screens in Phase Two.”
