Arts Alliance Media (AAM) has signed a deal to equip 400 Hoyts cinemas with its Theatre Management System, across the entire Hoyts circuit in Australia and New Zealand.

The deal is the first Arts Alliance Media has completed for a cinema outside those it has equipped as part of its own digital cinema rollout, and the first of its kind where a major exhibitor has committed to a TMS solution that is independent from the equipment selection and the integration company involved.

Hoyts, Australia’s leading cinema chain, is rolling out digital cinema across its entire circuit as part of the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners Australia (DCIPA) group.

Adam Wrightson, Group Technology Director, Hoyts, said: “For an exhibitor, choosing the right TMS is an important decision. It will become the foundation forworkflow and management of our entire digital cinema network. An effective TMS will enable us to achieve the operational efficiencies and real revenue opportunitiesthat digital conversion promises. After reviewing all the products in the marketplace we found the AAM TMS to be the most flexible and the most suited to our needs. As we continue to expand our digital cinema platform, we see AAM as a strategic partner to achieving our goals moving forward.”

Fiona Deans, Chief Operating Officer of AAM, added: “Although our rollout business is focused in Europe, our content and software businesses are worldwide. We see Hoyts Cinemas as a key customer adding to our worldwide portfolio. Their operational and technical expertise is second to none around the globe making Hoyts a very welcomed client.”

Arts Alliance Media’s TMS is part of a software suite designed to manage all aspects of digital cinema content and playback in a cinema from a single location.

The AAM TMS is currently being rolled out across the company’s VPF-signed screens with Cineworld and Yelmo, a total of over 1,100 screens.

The London, Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam-based distributor has deployed over 700 digital screens with a further 2300 screens signed up, and has VPF agreements in place with five Hollywood studios.

In March AAM struck a deal with Broadmedia to licence its TMS in Japan.