Nancy Fares, Manager for TI’s DLP Cinema™ division, departed from TI in May, accepting the CEO position for Micralyne in Edmonton, Canada, a manufacturer of MEMS devices. (MEMS stands for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems – the core semiconductor technology behind DLP.) Micralyne develops MEMS for several applications, including biomedical and optical networks. This is a great opportunity for Nancy in an area where she has considerable expertise. I wish her luck in her new position. TI says it will be recruiting from within to fill her vacancy.
XDC and Cinedigm each reported progress with off-balance-sheet financing for exhibitors. XDC closed a loan package with BNP Paribas Fortis for €100M, the first €50M of which is targeted for Belgian exhibitors. Although not announced, one would expect Kineopolis to be included in this group. Cinedigm announced closing of a $47M non-recourse credit facility to finance 750 screens already signed up with the deployment entity. The non-recourse feature is important for Cinedigm, which has no assets to back the loan. No doubt the success by both companies in closing their financing deals is due to the successful close by DCIP in its financing.
European cinemas are preparing for the 3-D broadcast of World Cup games on their screens carried by satellite distribution company Arqiva. Arqiva successfully ran tests of 3-D live broadcast with UK deployment entity Arts Alliance Media end of April. In May, Belgian deployment entity XDC announced it would also carry the 3-D broadcasts by Arqiva.
Sony signed a media rights deal with the FIFA in December for the 3-D capture of up to 25 World Cup matches. This month, Sony began placement of ads showing double image shots with the caption: “Do not adjust your set. Maybe it’s time to buy a 3-D TV.” Sony plans to sell 3-D footage of the games on Blu-ray, but will also live broadcast in 3-D to up to 1300 Sony-affiliated shops across Europe.