Yummi Media Group, Singapore, has reached an exclusive licensing and partnership agreement with Wanda cinema chain in China, to enable the country's growing number of cinema-goers to access movies and interactive content from its new mobile app, WeDong.
Known as 'cinime' outside of China, the app uses Yummi's proprietary platform, Phonix, which enables audiences to use their smartphones to interact and engage with content on the big screen without the need for a cellular or wi-fi connection. Much of the $40 million funding has gone into developing the Phonix platform, which is being rolled out globally by the company.
To date some $40 million has been invested in the development of Yummi with funding from PT Tan, the Chairman of Falcon Energy Group, a Singapore listed oil-field company.
P.T. Tan, chairman of Yummi Media Group said, "This partnership with Wanda adds 15 percent of the world's total cinema screens to Yummi's rapidly expanding global cinema network. This is a milestone deal that not only empowers an increasingly mobile-savvy Chinese population with access to Yummi's leading mobile cinema app but also welcomes Wanda, the world's largest cinema owner, into the Yummi universe."
In response to the growing momentum of demand for mobile-rich content in China, Alastair Simpson, CEO of Yummi Media Group said, "Interactivity and audience engagement are at the heart of everything we do and we are applying this philosophy to the cinema sector on a global scale. We are extending the reach and effectiveness of cinema as a medium by creating an international network of strategic partnerships and achieving a critical mass of users who consider mobile as their ultimate cinema companion.”
Commenting on Yummi's expansion Simpson added, "Yummi has achieved real momentum in the cinema sector as content providers and advertisers recognize how WeDong / cinime is changing the face of the cinema-going experience.
"Although the application of WeDong / cinime is currently focused on the global cinema industry, there are broader windows of opportunity in the TV, Sporting, Live Events and Telecom sectors that represent huge commercial potential. Development in these growth sectors is currently under way."
Yummi currently has a presence in Singapore, Beijing, Los Angeles and London.
Yummi Media Group www.yummimedia.com