Access IT, Studios to Add 10,000 Digital Cinema Screens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2008 - 10:39am.

Morristown, N.J. - Access Integrated Technologies (Access IT) (NASD: AIXD), a provider of digital cinema projection systems for movie theaters, announced on Tuesday a massive deal with four major movies studios, to provide movies to up to 10,000 digital cinema systems in the U.S. and Canada.

The studios -- Disney (NYSE: DIS), News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures and GE's (NYSE: GE) Universal Pictures -- will pay virtual print fees for a limited time for movies projected on AccessIT systems, which currently number around 3,700.

AccessIT CEO Bud Mayo told the Associated Press that the conversion of the additional screens to digital will cost as much as $700 million.

The digital cinema screens can also be equipped, for an additional approximately $25,000 per year, to support new digital 3D films.

These include recent concert films from U2 and Hannah Montana, and at least 30 others currently in development, AP reports.

"AccessIT Digital Cinema's success would not have been possible without the early support of these studios," said Chuck Goldwater, president of AccessIT's media services division.

"With their renewed support of this next chapter of our digital cinema program, the industry has a clear signal of the studios' continuing commitment to the digital future and all the benefits of that technology, especially 3D and alternative content."