By
Charlotte Jones

Leading cinema exhibitors in Denmark and Finland are first to join commercial VPF networks as standalone exhibitors in Scandinavia and the Baltic regions respectively.

Largest circuit in Denmark, Nordisk Film Cinemas (part of the Egmont media group), has agreed deal to upgrade 120 screens across 17 sites with pan-European digital cinema services company XDC under a virtual print fee (VPF) scheme. The agreement follows its existing working relationship with XDC to roll-out non VPF screens, but marks the first actual exhibitor signing for XDC in the region. Equipment used will be Barco projectors, Doremi servers plus theatre management (TMS) equipment from Barco. Nordisk has targeted full digitisation by end 2012 and first deployments will begin in Q3 2011. Deal follows recent award of public grants for qualifying cinemas in Denmark by the DFI.  Nordisk already has around 30 digital screens following an supply deal with 3D equipment provider MasterImage. Over one third of the Danish screen base was digital at Q1 2011.  

Meanwhile, leading Finnish circuit, Finnkino, has agreed a deal with rival European digital services company Arts Alliance Media (AAM) to upgrade all its 88 screens under a commercial VPF network. As the first Finnish exhibitor to sign up to a commercial thrid party VPF network, Finnkino has targeted full digital screen deployment for end 2012. The agreement marks the first exhibitor deployment contract for AAM in the territory, although it has gained a foothold in the wider Nordic region through winning one of the commercial tenders as part of the nationwide digital cinema conversion programme (now completed) in Norway under Film & Kino as well as in Denmark, through independent exhibitor consortium Denmark Digitiaal comprising 68 screens.

FinnKino has itself recently been acquired by Swedish private equity group Ratos from media group Sanoma. Finnkino is the largest cinema circuit in Finland but also has a number of key multiplex sites spread across Baltic territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania under the Forum Cinemas brand. Finnkino itself absorbed the former assets of Sandrew Metronome Finland back in 2006, which included three key multiplex cinemas. At the time it was reported that Ratos would provide Finnkino with €50m in equity financing in order to make further strategic investments in new screen construction and digital upgrade. At end of Q1 2011, there were 137 digital screens in Finland, equivalent to over 40 per cent of total screens in the territory.  

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