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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 16, 2007

Cinema Buying Group-NATO issues Digital Cinema Request For Proposals

More than 4,000 screens represented

Reisterstown, Md.– The Cinema Buying Group-NATO (CBG-NATO) issued today a Request For Proposals (RFP) to digital cinema equipment and service providers on behalf of the members of the CBG-NATO — small to medium-sized independent theaters in the United States and Canada.



Through the RFP, CBG-NATO members seek to acquire digital cinema equipment and service on favorable terms, funded in whole or part through “virtual print fee” (VPF) arrangements, which ensure their ability to provide high quality and reliable digital exhibition service to patrons in their markets.



“The CBG and NATO believe that smaller and regional independent theater companies deserve a fair opportunity to participate in the digital cinema revolution,” said J. Wayne Anderson, CBG-NATO Managing Director and independent theater operator. “This RFP will help bring the benefits of digital cinema to theater patrons across North America.”



The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from qualified vendors to provide digital cinema equipment and service to the members of the CBG, and to determine as promptly as possible thereafter which vendor’s proposal best suits the needs and interests of the members of the CBG.



The RFP will be posted on the CBG website at http://www.cbgpurchasing.com and the NATO website at http://www.natoonline.org/pdfs/CBG-NATO%20RFP.pdf. To be considered, all proposals must be received by the CBG not later than 12 noon (EDT), Friday, September 28, 2007.



At the time of the issuance of this RFP, CBG management intends to select a digital cinema equipment and service vendor for its members before the end of the calendar year 2007.



About CBG

The Cinema Buying Group-NATO, a semi-autonomous buying program of the National Association of Theatre Owners, is comprised of small to medium-sized independent theaters in the United States and Canada and represents more than 4,000 screens.



About NATO

The National Association of Theatre Owners is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 29,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and additional cinemas in more than 40 countries worldwide.


For more information, contact:

CBG-NATO

J. Wayne Anderson, Managing Director

800-416-0077



NATO

G. Kendrick Macdowell, Vice President and General Counsel

202-962-0054

What a poorly written press release.

Anyone gonna apply? I was gonna till I remembered we aren't members.

I got one too. I have my finger's crossed that we'll be able to get in on that and most importantly survive the time leading up to the conversion. My worry is that in the months leading up to the transition there will be fewer and fewer 35MM prints available and I'll be squeezed out.

[This message has been edited by leeler (edited August 17, 2007).]

For those not familiar with the term, "Request For Proposals" or RFP, is a formal negotiating term used in business to solicit contractual solutions for complicated business transactions.

The initial RFP mentioned above might or might not result in an agreement, but will at least provide a solid "starting point" to proceed with formal negotiations. This will help to seperate the real players from the pretenders in the D-Cinema soup. The RFP could result in a workable solution to allow independents to participate in the D-Cinema rollout.

The message that the CBG is sending to equipment vendors and business model facilitators with this RFP is, "We are seroius about striking a D-Cinema deal today, let's see how serious you are. Make us an offer."

After the RFP responses come back, the CBG managing director will then make recommendations about the responses to the Board of Directors of the CBG, and if one or more responses are deemed to be acceptable, those responses would be passed on to the membership for a vote. It is possible that one or more of the responses to the RFP could be voted on at the next membership meeting during ShowEast.

The details of the responses to the RFP which are voted on by the CBG members will be kept confidential to CBG members only. If you want to benefit from the CBG, you need to be a member of the CBG.

If you are not a member of the CBG when the CBG closes a deal for D-Cinema, you will not be able to participate in that deal at the same terms as current CBG members.

Even after the CBG comes to an agreement for the rollout of D-Cinema to its members, there will be a lengthy waiting period before those installations begin. Not all 4,000 members will have their equipment installed in the same calendar year, and the rollout is likely to be organized on a market-by-market basis, with larger markets preceding smaller sized ones.

Nobody is suggesting you have to have D-Cinema in your theatre today, tommorrow, next month, or next year. What people like myself are promoting is that you should become educated about D-Cinema today, so that when it is time to make a decision, you will have the knowledge to make the correct decision for you.

Respectfully yours,

Rick Cohen
Transit Drive-in Theatre
Lockport, New York


[This message has been edited by Transit Drive in (edited August 17, 2007).]

I am bumping this topic to the top, to help refresh some memories.

Please make note of the part which reads:

"If you are not a member of the CBG when the CBG closes a deal for D-Cinema, you will not be able to participate in that deal at the same terms as current CBG members."

That statement certainly implies that there will be a cutoff date to joining the CBG.

Rick