Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition (DCDC) and KenCast have entered into a new long-term agreement to ensure flawless content delivery throughout the U.S.
KenCast technology supports DCDC’s delivery of feature, promotional, pre-show and live content distribution into theaters throughout the network which currently covers in excess of 33,000 screens in over 3,000 cinemas.
DCDC was founded by AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Regal Entertainment Group, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros as a coalition to serve the cinema and film distribution community.
“KenCast’s digital cinema distribution software and hardware have been the network’s backbone for nearly a decade. They have been a great, supportive partner and we are pleased to extend our relationship ensuring our network will continue to perform reliably underpinned by KenCast’s technical solutions and with their ongoing support,” said Howard Kiedaisch, DCDC’s CEO.
DCDC first partnered with KenCast in 2012 to create a digital cinema delivery solution to dramatically save costs and reduce errors by replacing the shipment (and return) of bulky hard drives. Multicast delivery via satellite made the most sense – technologically, economically and administratively – to transmit content to such a large, geographically dispersed network of theaters.
Ten years later, it has been a huge success. Since its launch, the DCDC network has delivered millions of theatrical releases to thousands of cinemas and tens of millions of theater goers across the country. The vast majority of movies screened in the U.S. arrive at the theater following a 23,000-mile flight into space and back again.
“Through this proven partnership, KenCast will dedicate its expertise and experience to ensuring that the DCDC network continues to build on its reputation for extremely efficient, secure and affordable delivery,” said KenCast’s president, Dr Henrik Axelsson.
Illustrating his faith in a cinema distribution network connected by satellite instead of terrestrial broadband, Mr Kiedaisch added: “Though there is a lot of excitement about broadband solutions and talk of satellite distribution being an antiquated technology, it’s by far the most cost effective and reliable method to transmit our content at this time.”
KenCast offers both satellite and terrestrial content delivery solutions. This includes its third generation CinemaPro appliance and second-generation decoding device for live content, the Event Player. The latter area, live content, has seen some of the fastest growth in the cinema business. Over the last 12 months, DCDC was able to double the number of sites capable of showing live content and is now approaching 900 live enabled sites. Whether live sports, concerts, or more, real time events create a compelling reason to come together for a shared theatrical experience.
Dr. Axelsson added: “Through it all, we have been excited to have helped translate DCDC’s vision into reality and are thrilled to support its continued growth. We are grateful to DCDC for their ongoing trust in our solutions. It is an honor to support their mission to provide best of class services to exhibitors and content providers.”
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