Imagica EMS agreed with Toho to create a joint venture to provide DCP delivery services
Tokyo — Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc. (“Imagica EMS”) today announced it has entered an agreement with Toho Co., LTD. to create a joint venture company that distributes and delivers Digital Cinema Package (“DCP”) files to theaters and cinema chains in Japan. The new company 2023, will take over and consolidate all the services currently provided by Imagica EMS and Tokyo Laboratories for DCP media duplication, delivery and distribution, key generation and management, post-release support services and system integration and installation for cinemas.
“We are very excited about this opportunity of combining our operational capabilities and leadership in quality and technology with such of Toho Group, one of the leading film distributors and cinema exhibitors in Japan,” stated Masashi Nakamura, President & CEO, Imagica EMS. “We have already over 120 cinema sites, including Toho Cinemas, connected with our DCP delivery technology. This collaboration will further expand our efficient, adaptable and secure content delivery network and help us better serve the community of film distributors and exhibitors.
Hiro Matsuoka, President and Representative Director of Toho, said, “We are looking forward to working with the Imagica Group, which has long contributed to the film industry as Japan’s top laboratory since the days when movies were made on film, to advance the digital transformation of film distribution and movie theaters.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Imagica will own 66.6% and Toho will receive a 33.4% equity stake in the joint venture company, which is expected to start operating at Imagica’s facility in Shinagawa in April, 2023.
About Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc.
Imagica Entertainment Media Services (https://www.imagica-ems.co.jp/en) is a leading provider of post-production and media services based in Tokyo, Japan, serving content creators and distributors all over the world. With its roots as the first film laboratories in Japan, the company has supported the content production and media industry for 90 years since 1932. It has pioneered a number of technologies in the field of digital cinema including that of mastering services and its unique, proprietary systems and tools such as for key generation tools (“CLAVIS”) and for IP-based file distribution (“Shaula”). The company has five operating facilities, including its flagship Takeshiba Media Studio, newly built in 2021, and operates as part of IMAGICA GROUP’s Global E2E (end-to-end) Services network together with Pixelogic Media (https://pixelogicmedia.com)
About Toho Co., Ltd.
Toho Company, Limited, is a Japanese entertainment studio focused on the development, production, exhibition, and distribution of powerful content for motion pictures, television and theater. Founded in 1932, it remains a prominent force in bringing brands and original storytelling with versatile talents to audiences worldwide. Its subsidiaries include Toho Cinemas, the leading exhibition company in Japan.
