Milan, 5thSeptember 2012
PRESS RELEASE
MEDIA Salles presents the new statistics at the Venice Film Festival
Europe’s digital screens grow by 17% in the first six months of 2012
The European digital screens equipped with DLP™ Cinema or SXRD™ technology now touch on a figure of 22,000. According to MEDIA Salles’ latest findings, they number 21,789 with a 17.4% growth rate compared to the beginning of the year, when they came to a total of 18,566.
The growth that led Europe to start 2012 with over half its screens converted to the new technologies is thus continuing.Taken as a whole digital penetration in the 35 countries monitored by MEDIA Salles had reached 60.5% at 30 June 2012.
There continue to be considerable differences on the various markets. Besides Norway and Luxembourg, which have had full digitalization for some time now, and the Netherlands, which is nearing the 100% mark, the digital penetration rate reaches to beyond the European average in Belgium (approx. 93%), in Finland (approx. 89%), in Denmark (87.9%), in the United Kingdom (approx. 86%) and in France (80.5%).Instead, it remains below the overall rate for Europe in Germany (approx. 54%), Italy (46.8%) and Spain (approx. 43%) and in particular on smaller markets such as Greece (16.9%), Slovenia (14.4%), Turkey (14.1%) and the Republic of Serbia (10.3%).
The biggest markets in terms of ticket sales also have the largest percentage of digital screens out of the overall total for Europe, so that France, with 4,397 digital screens, comes in first place with 20.2% of Europe’s digital base, followed by the United Kingdom (3,216 digital screens equal to 14.8%), Germany (2,500 digital screens equal to 11.5%), Italy (1,815 digital screens equal to 8.3%), Spain (1,750 digital screens equal to 8.0%), and Russia (1,632 digital screens equal to 7.5%).
As to the 2012 growth rates, the countries where the number of digital screens has risen to above 100% compared to June 2011 are: Sweden (+142.3%, from 201 digital screens to 487), Slovakia (+117.8%, from 45 to 98 digital screens), Hungary (+104%, from 100 to 204), Finland (+103.3%, from 123 to 250) and Poland (+102.6% from 390 to 790).
As had already emerged at the end of 2011, the roll-out is now into its second major phase and continues to develop through the addition of 2D digital screens.
This is demonstrated by the figures on the penetration rate of 3D screens compared to the total of digital screens as a whole.The percentage appears to be experiencinga more or less clear decline in various different countries.It is particularly marked on those markets that are approaching completion of their transition.
This is the case in France, for example, where, at June 2012 3D technology is adopted by 59% of screens. One year previously it had been 70%. Similar trends are shown in the Netherlands, dropping from 72% to 51%, in the United Kingdom (from 66% to 50%), in Switzerland (from 76% to 60%), in Sweden (from 87% to 59%) and in Denmark (from 81% to 64%). The phenomenon is also affecting Russia where, in June 2011, 3D systems were being used by almost 100% of digital screens. This percentage has now dropped by three points. On observing the trend on markets that are more mature in terms of digitalization, it can be estimated that 3D penetration will settle at between 50% and 60%. A significant case is that of Norway, a pioneer country in full digitalization, where 3D is installed in 61% of theatres.
For further information, see “ European Cinema Journal” no. 2/2012 in the MEDIA Salles’ website: www.mediasalles.it
MEDIA Salles - Piazza Luigi di Savoia 24 - I - 20124 Milano –
tel: +39 02 6739781 - fax: +39 02 6690410 - e mail: infocinema@mediasalles.it
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Founded in 1991, MEDIA Salles operates in the framework of the European Union’s MEDIA Programme with the support of the Italian Government. The Association has always placed the promotion of European films through information and training specifically for cinema exhibitors at the centre of its mission.
In the field of information, MEDIA Salles provides statistics on trends in cinema-going for all European countries and the leading world markets. This service has been joined, over the past few years, by a census of Europe’s digital cinemas and the elaboration of data and trends in digitalization internationally. As regards training, in 2012 the ninth edition was held of the only course offered by the MEDIA Programme to deal with the new technologies from the perspective of the movie theatres: “DigiTraining Plus: European Cinemas Experiencing New Technologies” (Amsterdam, 29 August – 2 September).
On the website www.mediasalles.it the section DGT online informer is active and periodically updated and the European Cinema Yearbook can also be consulted (http://www.mediasalles.it/publicaz.htm).
In addition, MEDIA Salles’ Facebook page provides professional players and all those interested with a time to market on the international distribution of Italian films, complete with dates and countries of release and other useful information.
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