Cineworld To Roll Out Digital Screens Across The UK

14th Jun 2010 07:46

LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. cinema company Cineworld Group PLC (CINE.LN) Monday said it is partnering with a digital cinema technology firm to roll out digital projection facilities across all its U.K. screens. Cineworld is joining forces with Arts Alliance Media, which provides digital cinema technology and distribution services, to buy, install and operate digital projectors across the remainder of its entire estate of 77 cinemas. The conversion will take about three years and cost about GBP30 million. This is on top of the GBP10 million already spent on digital projection capabilities in 2009 and the first half of 2010. Cineworld said it will finance the investment from its existing financial resources and cash flow. Arts Alliance Media will collect a virtual print fee from the appropriate film distributor every time Cineworld shows a new film using a digital projector, rather than traditional 35 millimeter film. The popularity of 3D films has surged in recent months, boosted by blockbusters like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. At the time of its most recent trading statement in May, Cineworld said more than a third of its screens were digital and most had 3D capability. It now plans to screen alternative content in 3D in its U.K. cinemas, including live sport, plays, opera and concerts. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 14, 2010 02:46 ET (06:46 GMT)