The CIM Group, which owns the Hollywood & Highland Center, announced a 20-year deal on Tuesday with the audio technology company Dolby Laboratories Inc. to rename the Academy Awards (and Cirque du Soleil IRIS) venue as the Dolby Theatre. In a separate deal, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed a new agreement to keep the annual Oscars extravaganza at the theater for 20 more years.
“We are thrilled that Dolby is now the name of the theater because Dolby stands for excellence,” said Tom Sherak, president of the motion picture academy. “It’s a no-brainer for us.”
The posh four-level, 3,400-seat theater, formerly known as the Kodak Theatre, has been home to the Academy Awards since 2002. CIM Group dropped the Kodak name from the theater earlier this year after a bankruptcy court judge approved the early exit of 131-year-old Eastman Kodak Co. from a 20-year naming rights deal it signed with CIM Group in 1999.
During this year’s Oscar ceremony, host Billy Crystal jokingly referred to the space as the “Chapter 11 Theatre.”
No financial details of the new agreements were disclosed. Kodak previously paid a $3.6 million annual fee for the naming rights.
The 47-year-old company said it would began enhancing the theater’s sound system this summer when the naming agreement commences.
The 85th annual Academy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 24, 2013.
{ SOURCE: Yahoo News }
