A military band plays as it makes its way up Pennsylvania Avenue during a dress rehearsal for the Inaugural parade in Washington on January 11, 2009. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office and become the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Millions are expected in Washington for the event. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch) | License Photo

President-Elect Barack Obama meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington on January 12, 2009. (UPI Photo/Martin H. Simon/POOL) | License Photo

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration will be screened live in 27 U.S. theaters, MSNBC said Monday.

The cable channel said it had reached a deal with Screenvision to put its coverage of the inauguration on 27 theaters in 21 markets, The Hollywood Reporter said. Admission will be free and tickets are being distributed at MSNBC.com.


The programming will be presented from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST.

The arrangement gives MSNBC an opportunity to reach an audience in movie theaters, and it gives theater operators a chance to bring people into theaters -- and perhaps sell some popcorn and beverages -- at a time of day when movie attendance typically doesn't amount to much, the report said.

The signal will not be high-definition, but the cable channel and Screenvision say the picture will be high-quality. MSNBC President Phil Griffin said, "It'll look great."

Griffin told the Reporter the exhibiting its inauguration coverage in movie theaters is intended to "reach people we've never reached before."

"We're going to do numerous things like that to get our name out there," he said. "Ubiquity is the name of the game in 2009."