STUDIOS TO HELP UNDERRIGHT COSTS OF DIGITAL
Wednesday, March 12 2008
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Four of the six major studios have signed deals with Access Integrated Technologies to underwrite the costs of converting thousands of theaters to digital technology over the next three years. In effect, the deal calls for the studios -- Disney, Fox, Paramount and Universal (Warner Bros. and Sony are expected to join the group as well, reports said) -- to pay theaters what they would ordinarily pay for processing reels of film and distributing them. The theaters would then apply the "virtual print fee" to the costs of new digital projection equipment until the equipment is paid off. (Each digital projection system reportedly costs $75,000.) Distributing movies using digital media costs barely a fraction of film, which averages about $3,000-4,000 per print.
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