20 Year Media Acquires Emerging Pictures, hires Ryan Markowitz as VP Sales and Distribution
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 21, 2015 -- 20 Year Media Corp, (“20 Year Media” or “20YM”), a Vancouver based digital media technology company, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the assets of Emerging Cinemas, LLC. (“Emerging Pictures ” or “EP”), a pioneer in digital delivery and exhibition for the motion picture industry. Leveraging Emerging Pictures’ existing network of digital cinemas and its established technology platform, 20YM will utilize its enhanced demand data and social intelligence capabilities to address the excess capacity problems of the $40 billion North American cinema business.
"Emerging Pictures was originally founded to create a more efficient way of delivering movies to theatres using digital technology. With 20 Year Media, we are now adding the next piece of the equation: using data to create more efficient and effective ways to match content to audience and screen,” said Ira Deutchman, co-founder of EP.
The sales and marketing department of EP will continue to operate out of its New York office while the technology infrastructure will be overseen by the 20YM team in Vancouver, BC.
"The original Emerging Pictures technology was about removing friction on the distribution side,” said Mark Rutledge, CEO of 20YM. “With our new tools, we’ll be removing the friction on the marketing side by putting the data in the hands of the exhibitors and completely automating the process from booking all the way through delivery,” he continued. “This new technology will give audiences a wider selection of movies, and generate higher box office returns for both theatre owners and content creators.”
The upgrade to the EP technology platform will focus on creating a more flexible system that is compatible with any standard DCI configuration in theatres. The new system, to be rolled out in the fall of 2015, will enable exhibitors to be more innovative and flexible in their programming decisions using 20YM data together with seamless digital delivery.
As part of the acquisition, industry veteran Ryan Markowitz (formerly VP, Theatrical for eOne (US)) will become VP of Sales and Distribution at EP. Ryan brings a wealth of experience in the distribution and marketing of big budget and independent films.
“Emerging Pictures was at the forefront of the digital delivery revolution. Our continuing mission is to bring together content providers, whether they be traditional distributors or cutting edge curators, with our exhibition partners, to maximize revenue, through a wholly digital experience,“ said Markowitz.
The new company will continue to work with leading distributors such as Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Magnolia, A24, and Radius on films such as “Boyhood”, “Whiplash”, “Snowpiercer”, “Force Majeure”, and “Citizen Four”. The existing EP technology can deliver to over 150 theatres across the United States, and the network is poised to grow by over 30% in 2015.
About 20 Year Media Corp.
20 Year Media is a pioneer in demand driven inventory optimization for the motion picture industry. 20YM’s technology system aggregates consumer demand and uses this data to match and deliver content across platforms, maximizing revenues for all stakeholders.
Ryan Nadel, 20 Year Media Corp, http://20yearmedia.com, +1 (212)245-6767, [email protected]
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