Our take...
The agreed common framework for digital cinema conversion spearheaded by two of the largest film bodies in Europe shows that decisions for a commercial roll out are increasingly been viewed on a national level and with a strong government-led focus. The intervention has been deemed necessary in order to maintain the cultural diversity of Europe's fragmented film markets and avoid segmenting the market between leading exhibitors and Europe's many single-screen and art-house venues into a undesirable two-tier system. The agreement is instead aimed at promoting a single standard for all cinemas within a given territory and therefore inclusion of those venues in a common financing solution. The joining of two major European territories adds to their respective weight in managing the development of digital cinema roll-out to their desired targets. The development also echoes the now growing realisation that a commercially-led solution would not achieve these set objectives, partly due to some uncertainty regarding a set level of subsidy or VPF from the US Studios in Europe. In contrast, US markets are rolling out D-cinema in earnest primarily through one pioneer scheme AccessIT which is close to fulfilling its 4,000 digital screen conversion target by 2007. In other developments, the third party integrator Arts Alliance Media, recently signed up two US Studios for its prospective 7,000 European D-screen target.