July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Jackson’s memorial service tomorrow will be shown live in as many as 80 movie theaters, giving fans outside Los Angeles a chance to watch a cinema- quality high-definition broadcast.

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp., the company that is upgrading many U.S. theaters to digital systems, reached an agreement last night with the Jackson family and Los Angeles- based Anschutz Entertainment Group to offer the telecast to theater chains, Dale Mayo Chief Executive of the Morristown, New Jersey-based company, said today by telephone. Some free tickets will be made available, according to Cinedigm’s Web site.

“You’ll see it just as though you’re there,” Mayo said.

The telecast will give fans in as many as 31 U.S. states a place to congregate and watch the service, Mayo said. AEG, owner of Staples Center where the memorial will be held, is also offering a live television feed to broadcasters. Cinedigm plans to carry the program live without commentary or interruptions, Mayo said.

Mann’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles and New York’s Chelsea Cinemas were among 38 theaters that signed on to show the broadcast, Cinedigm said in an e- mail. The company expected to add more, said Lex Suvanto, an outside spokesman.

Carmike Cinemas Inc., based in Columbus, Georgia, announced free showings at locations including Savannah, Georgia; Champaign, Illinois; and Provo, Utah.

Hulu, Youtube

Participants in the service will include Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, “Dreamgirls” star Jennifer Hudson, and singers John Mayer and Stevie Wonder, according to a statement today from Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine. Details of the program weren’t disclosed.

Cinedigm is in discussions with other theater chains equipped to receive its transmissions, Mayo said. Potentially, the service could be shown on about 100 screens, Mayo said.

CNN television coverage of the service will be shown at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, near Jackson’s Neverland ranch, theater manager Karen Killingsworth said today in a telephone interview. There will be no admission charge to the 2,000-seat theater, she said.

“Some people will want to be with other people” while watching the service, Killingsworth said.

The service also will be streamed live on Hulu.com, the Web site partly owned by News Corp. and NBC Universal, the company said in an e-mailed statement. News Corp.’s MySpace.com also said it will show the service live.

Cinedigm rose 3 cents to $1.03 at 5:20 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have more than doubled this year.

AEG is a unit of billionaire Philip Anschutz’s closely held Anschutz Co., based in Denver.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 6, 2009 20:26 EDT