Kodak Seeks To End Theatre Deal

The Kodak Theatre – at least the name – may cease to exist now that Eastman Kodak Co. is looking to get out of its naming rights contract with the Hollywood venue that in recent years has hosted the Academy Awards.

The troubled photography icon filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 19, and followed shortly after with a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking to end its sponsorship agreement with the 3,400-capacity Kodak Theatre, which hosted the 2002-04 Pollstar Awards.

The Kodak naming agreement has been in place since the building opened in 2001.

Terms of the agreement aren’t specified, but legal documents indicate Kodak pays “a significant annual fee” for naming and other promotional rights to the venue. The Wrap reports the total deal clocks in at $75 million.

Dropping the Kodak Theatre sponsorship is one of several proposed spending cuts the 132-year-old company is pursuing in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Developer CIM Group, which owns the Kodak Theatre, will be free to find a new sponsor if the motion is granted, according to The Wrap. However, it adds, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will have veto power over any new corporate sponsor unless the Oscars move to another venue.