Paris, France—Apr 27, 2011
Smartjog Welcomes the 300th Cinema in France to Connect to its Network
UGC Ciné Cité Lyon joins the SmartJog network, becoming the 300th cinema in France to connect
SmartJog, the global leader in managed digital delivery services and subsidiary of the TDF group, is excited to welcome UGC as one of its newest clients and announced today that UGC Ciné Cité Lyon is the 300th theatre in France to connect to the SmartJog network. SmartJog plans to connect a total of 20 UGC sites in France and 3 in Belgium by the end of May. All of the theatres will use the SmartJog’s solutions and technology.
“SmartJog’s solution offers operators greater programming flexibility, thanks to fast, reliable and secure film distribution”, states Laurent Rieupeyrout, Technical Director of UGC cinemas.
“Since the beginning of digital cinema, we have partnered with Hollywood studios, producers, post houses, operators and advertising agencies for the exchange of their most critical content. Today, we are happy to welcome one of the largest cinema complexes to our network. Their trust in the service drives us to continue to offer new and innovative tools and solutions”, adds Nicolas Dussert, Director of Digital Cinema Sales at SmartJog. “Distributors who use our service have a major advantage as our network of connected cinemas continues to grow, giving them the ability to reach a larger footprint.”
Cinego.net, a theatre booking system which was designed for distributors and developed by CN films, interfaces with the SmartJog platform and relies on the network roll-out to allow distributors to activate and monitor the digital sending of content. “SmartJog has already linked 60% of French cinemas with digital transfer capabilities. By using Cinego.net, a distributor is able to systematically digitally deliver films as soon as the cinema has been connected. This simplifies logistics for the distributor and allows the operator to receive films and trailers directly into their projection booth”, emphasizes Thierry Delpit, Development Director at CN films.
With UGC, SmartJog has successfully connected all of France’s largest cinema screen networks, and as well as many French independent cinemas. On average, SmartJog installs around twenty new sites a month in France and plans to connect 500 of the country’s cinemas by the end of 2011.
SmartJog’s technology and its satellite platform lie at the heart of the TDF Group’s digital cinema strategy. The SmartJog teams work very closely with TDF’s European subsidiaries, allowing SmartJog to expand in Europe with more than 80 cinemas connected across Belgium, Germany, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and England.
As of today, over 200 feature films have been delivered to European theatres by SmartJog.
