Thomson Acquires Distributor

Thomson SA has acquired SyncCast Corp., a wholesale distributor of online movies, music and other entertainment, as part of an effort to boost its own digital-services businesses. The price wasn't disclosed.
Through its Technicolor services division, Thomson is trying to win more business from studios and distribution companies as they increasingly move toward digitization of key processes such as creating masters and delivery.
Thomson, of France, has been building an end-to-end system to cut the time and steps required to prepare movies, television shows and other content for distribution. Using the company's new arrangement, preparing a movie for TV, for example -- including changing proportions to fit a TV screen, adjusting the resolution, and making the appropriate number of copies -- might take 25 hours, compared with 100 hours without the integrated digital processes it has put in place.
The new system, which officially begins today, "allows studios to distribute their content faster," says Chris Carey, chief technology officer at Technicolor. Acquiring SyncCast, Anaheim, Calif., which delivers content on behalf of online retailers such as Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live Video Marketplace, will help Technicolor bolster its offerings in consumer-targeted businesses.