MUMBAI: Under a 20-year deal, Dolby Laboratories has been named sponsor of the former Kodak Theatre in the Hollywood & Highland Center that will host the Academy Awards. The complex is owned by the CIM Group.
The naming rights became available after the Eastman Kodak Co. went bankrupt and a federal judge allowed it to get out of its 20-year deal, which was costing the company a little more than $4 million a year. Kodak left the venue after 10 years as name sponsor.
Last December, the Academy in anticipating Kodak‘s problems, had not renewed its option on the theatre that allowed it to negotiate a new deal or leave for another venue. It was clear from the beginning,however, that the Academy preferred to stay in the venue. The organization had given CIM an exclusive first window to negotiate, which resulted in Tuesday‘s three-way deal.
Simultaneously, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has also stated that it has renegotiated its deal with the CIM Group for the Oscars to remain in the theatre through at least 2033. That‘s a 20-year extension beyond the current contract, which was to expire after the 2013 show.
The Academy also closed a separate 20-year deal with Dolby related to the naming rights.

"The Academy‘s board of governors believes that the home for our awards is in Hollywood; it is where the Academy and the motion picture industry are rooted," Academy president Tom Sherak has reportedly said. "We are pleased to have a new agreement with CIM that will continue our long-standing partnership," he observed.

CIM also welcomed the new deal.