JOIN USOn-screen 3D premiere for IPL finals
UFO Moviez, the world’s largest digital satellite cinema network, is planning to take the DLF IPL 2010 to about 1,000 screens across India live, even projecting the semi-final and final matches in 3D in about 70 3D-equipped theatres.
The company has already signed in 550 screens, in both multiplexes and single-screen theatres, across the nation, and hopes to take the figure up to 1,000 by the time the tournament begins on March 12.
The telecast of the matches on 50 feet wide screens in high-definition digital format at these theatres will be ad-free during the live telecast period, except for perhaps scrolling ads at the blank space below the projected image, and in many theatres, will come with live cheer girls, too.
“It will be almost like the live match experience, since we will create a carnival like atmosphere in many of these theatres with cheer leaders, live bands, multi-cuisine food stalls and face painters,” UFO Moviez India Ltd joint managing director Kapil Agarwal said here on Thursday.
“While this year we plan to show the semi-finals and the final in 3D in most of the 70-odd 3D-equipped theatres in the country, we hope that next year this figure will go up to around 400 screens,” he said.
The ticket costs for the matches will be in the region of what the theatres charge for their weekend screenings, though the semi-finals and the final will have a higher price, he said. There will be season tickets of various combinations for enthusiasts as well as corporate booking facilities.
“With this, over 500 cities and towns will get to watch the matches on the big screen,” Agarwal said.
UFO, which has its digital satellite cinema projection equipment installed in over 1,700 screens nationwide, has tied up with Crown Infotainment, which had bought theatrical rights of the IPL from 2010 to 2019 for Rs 330 crore. Among the multiplex chains that have signed up for the tournament are Cinemax, INOX, Fame and PVR, Agarwal said.