Cinedigm Announces Agreement With Great Escape Theatres for Phase 2 Deployment Program

October 5, 2009

Source: Cinedigm

Great Escape Among First to Select New Exhibitor-Buyer Financing Option

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. today announced Great Escape Theatres ("Great Escape"), an Indiana-based cinema chain, will participate in Cinedigm's Phase 2 digital cinema deployment program.

Great Escape will purchase its own equipment and Cinedigm will manage the Virtual Print Fees (VPFs) for a ten-year term for 200 screens at 15 locations.

In Phase 2, Cinedigm has created an Exhibitor-Buyer financing option for exhibitors. When exhibitors choose this option, they select and purchase their own equipment and Cinedigm manages billing and collection of VPFs from movie distributors, receiving a fee for doing so.

Exhibitors such as Great Escape who select this option install Cinedigm Certified fully-networked digital cinema systems using one of the digital cinema equipment manufacturers with whom Cinedigm has agreements: Barco, Christie or NEC.

"We're very excited to be transitioning to digital cinema and to be working with Cinedigm. We know that their leadership of the industry and the great success that they have had will help to ensure our smooth transition," said Anne Ragains, CEO of Great Escape. "We're pleased that Cinedigm's Phase 2 plan allows us to purchase and own the digital systems thereby enabling us to invest in technology for our company that is revolutionizing the movie-going experience."

"We are excited that Great Escape is taking advantage of the Exhibitor-Buyer option available in our Phase 2 plan allowing them to invest in the business they know best. It is clear that the digital cinema conversion is gearing up again in earnest this fall, and Great Escape is one of the forward thinking exhibitors who is kick-starting the trend," said Bud Mayo, chairman and CEO of Cinedigm.

"Cinedigm is pleased to be working with Great Escape, one of the most innovative and successful independent movie chains in the country. We know that their move to digital cinema will help them enhance their commitment to bringing the highest quality viewing experience, a wide range of alternative content, and live, satellite-delivered, events to movie-goers in their markets," said Chuck Goldwater, president of Cinedigm's Media Services Group.

Cinedigm's Digital Cinema division is the industry-leading deployment program for Digital Cinema that facilitates the funding, installation support and administration for the company's studio-supported Digital Cinema rollout plans.


To date, Cinedigm has contracted for and completed the rollout of nearly 4,000 systems in forty-one states with exhibitors including Atlas Theatres, Allen Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Celebration! Cinema, Cinema West, Cinetopia, Dickinson Theatres, Emagine, Galaxy Cinema, Marquee Cinemas, Krikorian Premiere Theatres, MJR Theatres, Neighborhood Cinema Group, Premiere Cinema Corp., Rave Motion Picture Theatres, Showplace Cinemas, UltraStar, and Cinedigm's own Pavilion Digital Showcase Theatre.

Its Phase 2 plan aims to provide networked, turnkey Digital Cinema systems, in conformance with DCI specifications, for up to an additional 10,000 screens.

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