Hollywood Reporter

April 26th 2006

Tartan, AAM strike digital deal

By Sam Andrews

LONDON -- British independent film-to-DVD distributor Tartan Films said Tuesday that it has sealed an exclusive three-year deal with Arts Alliance Media to distribute its products via digital cinema, video-on-demand and electronic sell-through (EST).

The deal will kick off with such upcoming Tartan releases as "The Proposition," "Brothers of the Head" and Paul Verhoeven's latest, "Black Book." It also includes catalog titles like "The Seventh Seal," "Man Bites Dog" and "Battle Royale."

AAM will provide digital cinema encoding, encryption, digital cinema prints and security keys as well as digital content storage, mobile and portable device streaming for all Tartan films and trailers. It also will have exclusive rights to distribute Tartan's content via VOD, EST and portable device streaming, and serve as the exclusive creator and supplier of all Tartan digital assets.

The deal marks the first time a film distributor has signed up for the entire package of AAM's digital distribution services.

"Arts Alliance Media is so far ahead of the game that this decision was a no-brainer," Tartan Films chief Hamish McAlpine said. "We also believe that operating through an exclusive digital distributor enables us to channel our marketing far more effectively than if it was to be spread thinly across several companies."

"Arts Alliance Media is very excited about the opportunity to work with Tartan as their digital services provider," AAM CEO Howard Kiedaisch said. "Tartan's eclectic mix of edgy content is perfectly suited for digital distribution channels, which will allow their films to reach a wider audience previously unable to find this content in traditional formats due to logistics and cost.”