re: lum news article - new york post New York Post3/5/05 Steve...

re: lum news article - new york post New York Post
3/5/05 Steve Cuozzo

SKYLINE KINGS DISPLAY DISNEY

Theres action at the top of Douglas Durst's ever-entertaining 4 times square aka the conde nast tower.
Durst built its rooftop features on spec, as he did the office portion. Now, after a slow start, the tower tops
giant sign screens and it's dramatic broadcast antenna are seeing a flurry of activity.
In the past few weeks, no one on the far West Side or in New Jersey could miss the giant "Lion King" display on the western most facade of the buildings four, 50 by 50 foot screens. Although it is a conventional-looking image by day, it transforms after dark into a glowing, image-shifting electronic ad for Disneys long-running Broadway hit playing just down the block.
Durst has struggled to find users for the four rooftop signs - the only one previous ad was for the internet company Teligent, which collapsed two years ago.
" I'd be the lying king if i told you i wasnt thrilled with the 'lion king' sign," Durst said yesterday.
Making it possible was a deal he recently struck for the western-facing sign with Lumacom, an Australia-based electronic technology company that developed a high-resolution energy-saving technique based on "psycho-physics," which it describes as the science of sensory processes and perception.
Lumacom CEO Rod Sala says its display panels require only 10 percent of the pixels, or light elements, of a conventional to convey a full image. "We leased it like a piece of property," Sala said.
Durst leasing honcho Tom Bow would not say how much Lumacom was paying under a 5-year lease, but said the asking rent on each of the four signs is $1 million a year.
Lumacom in turn rented the sign to Disney on a 30-day trial with a one-year renewal option.
Bow said 4 Times Square offers the "only chance for a third-party user" - a company that's not a tenant- " to get a sign on top of a building this tall in the city."
Sala said Disney or any user can save a bundle with Lumacom's panels because the advertiser doesnt need to build it's own signs - "like Coca-Cola which paid $6 million to $7 million just to build it's sign on 2 Times Square in addition to rent."


The article then goes on to talk about Clear Channel, Morgan Chase and others.

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx
(you can see the article in newspaper form but you need to subscribe, which is free. Its on page 34)