Startup MetaMedia has emerged as a leader for cinemas tapping into streaming technology for non-theatrical programs, interactive on-screen content and movies themselves.
Non-theatrical content includes red-carpet events, special fan events, teleconferences for corporate clients and educational presentations using cyberspace’s the cloud technology. Plus, Metamedia is developing on on-screen interactive program dubbed Magic Screen Interactive Animated Content, which is a joint venture presenting avatars on the cinema screen that engage individuals in the theater audience.
For client Sony Pictures, Metamedia beamed special advance screenings in spring of comic book film adaptation “Morbius,” which went on to gross $73 million domestically. The April screening was at a Cinemark theater in the Los Angeles area (and also Cinemark theaters in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Chile); and included video coverage of red-carpet arrivals. The “Morbius” premieres were called the “Screening of the Americas.”
The biggest competitor to Metamedia seems to be Fathom Events, which provides cinemas alternative programming at off-peak weekdays. Fathom offerings include 35th anniversary screenings of “Men In Black,” a festival of animated movies from Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli and World War I documentary “They Will Not Grow Old,” which grossed an impressive $18 million in domestic cinema. Fathom is owned by the three largest U.S. theater chains, with publicly traded National Cinemedia managing and with a small 4% minority stake.
Metamedia has a broader focus producing multipronged events, in a one-stop service with its own collection of service providers.
“Imagine a red-carpet event from London with stars on the red carpet directly responding to questions from a theater audience in Iowa,” Jason Brenek, MetaMedia founder and chief executive officer, said in a press release. “Or a fireside chat with a recording artist before a record drop, broadcast to cinemas throughout the country and followed by a live performance. Events can be promotional or ticketed, bringing new revenue to cinemas while cost effectively reaching even four quadrant audiences.” Quadrants divide the audience into four demographic groups and four quadrants all ages.
MetaMedia is an online service provider using a cloud-based platform powered by Microsoft’s Azure to deliver big-screen entertainment to cinemas, drive-ins, arenas and other mass-gathering venues. At the end of 2021, Metamedia counted connections to 3,000 cinema screens across the U.S. and Canada (the U.S. has about 40,000 screens and Canada another 3,000).
Its connections are with U.S. theater circuits Cinemark, Marcus Theatres, B&B Theatres and others. What’s missing are the top two chains.
Other companies under the Metamedia umbrella of services include China-based electronics outfit HCL Technologies, which is a tech provider. In April, Metamedia set up a venture with Broadcast Management Group (BMG) to provide production services making video coverage for events. Brenek founded Metamedia just as the pandemic closed cinemas, which made for tough early going. Brenek is a former big-screen Imax and Walt Disney Studios executive. So, he comes from the industry and not venture capital, unlike many other startups.
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