 Its aims include building a larger audience for the Met and garnering excitement for arts at a local level.The original idea for presenting operas in this way came from the new incoming general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb in late 2006.Exhibiting the Met's performances in digital movie theaters is in line with other audience-expanding efforts by the Met such as radio broadcasts on Sirius Radio, iPod downloads, live streaming video on the Met website, and free opening night screenings in Times Square and at Lincoln Center.