PALACE Amusement Company and SportsMax have launched islandwide screenings of live sports events, a prospect that is expected to bolster weakened movie attendance.

The initiative, called “SportsMax Cine Zone” kicked off on Sunday, with an invitation-only showing of Manchester United versus Chelsea in the English Premiere League.

This “alternative content” has been in the pipelines for over a year when Palace started converting its four cinemas, including Carib 5 in Cross Roads, Kingston, and Odeon Cineplex in Mandeville to digital formats. “It’s been our intention as digital allows us to do so many other things”, said Melanie Graham, marketing manager of Palace Amusement.

Reception to Sunday’s live stream was excellent, said Tanya Lee, regional marketing manager of SportsMax. She said the sports channel wants to keep improving its product and having people watch events on such large screens enhanced the viewing experience. About 400 people turned up for the launch of Cine Zone.

“The feedback has been tremendous,” said Lee. She added that the excitement of the match, which ended with three goals to three, added to its success. “Eventually, we want to do it (go islandwide) but the technicals have to be in place first.”

Lee did not give a timeline for the national roll-out, saying the delivery of the signals for matches and the cinemas’ ability to provide good quality picture will both affect that decision.

When that’s done though, Jamaicans will have the opportunity to watch several sporting events, including the popular Boys’ and Girls’ Championships, T-20 Cricket and possibly even the Olympics at the cinemas.

Palace also plans to show events other than sports, said Graham. This could include live concerts and cultural events, she said.

The cinema company had a “marginally successful year”, according to its annual review and accounts for the year ended June 2011. Attendance declined due to “harsh economic circumstances,” it said. This led to a $50 rise in ticket prices across the board in December, just before the traditionally busier Christmas period.

The season was good and there have been no huge complaints, Graham said.

“It’s not that they like it,” she said but “people understand”, adding that the recent festive season was better than the year before, though she did not provide any figures.

Palace, which has been severely affected by piracy, posted after-tax profits of just over $10 million in its 2011 results. It made $9.4 million in the same period for the previous year.

The company’s annual review showed that screen advertising increased by 21 per cent. However, this was somewhat countered by the five per cent increase in utilities expenditure, mostly for electricity.

“We are upbeat about the quality of the service that we offer, but we are more cautious in the coming year.”

Carib 5 will again offer its Cine Zone on March 4, when the Red Devils (Manchester United) meet Tottenham.