National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: NCMI
Russell 2000 Component
IndustryMotion Picture Exhibition advertising
Founded2002; 23 years ago (2002), in Centennial, Colorado
FateChapter 11 Bankruptcy
HeadquartersCentennial, Colorado, U.S.
Key people
Tom Lesinski (CEO)
Subsidiaries
  • National CineMedia, LLC (43.7%)
  • Fathom Events (4%)
Websitencm.com

National CineMedia, Inc. (NCM) is an American cinema advertising company. NCM displays ads to U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. NCM presents cinema advertising across a digital in-theater network, consisting of theaters owned by AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Regal Cinemas and other regional theater circuits.

The publicly-traded National CineMedia, Inc. owns 48.8% and is the managing partner of NCM. Regal's parent company Cineworld and Cinemark and hold the remainder of NCM shares.[1] In May 2014, Screenvision entered into a merger agreement with NCM for US$375 million.[2] The merger was blocked by the Department of Justice over antitrust concerns, since Screenvision and NCM together would supply advertising to 34,000 of the nation's 39,000 movie theaters.[3] In March 2015, Screenvision and NCM terminated their deal and NCM paid Screenvision a $26.8 million termination payment.[4]

The company is perhaps best known to the general public for its advertising pre-show, Noovie.

On April 11, 2023, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[5]

FirstLook

FirstLook (2006–2017) was NCM's pre-feature programming. FirstLook consisted of pre-show advertising and entertainment, provided by content partners such as ABC Networks, A&E Television Networks, Amazon, Disney, Fandango, Google, Hulu, Microsoft, NBC, Nintendo and Turner Broadcasting System[6] interspersed with advertising. The program was approximately 20 minutes, and was timed to end exactly at the movie's start time, before any trailers.

FirstLook was the successor to Regal's The 2wenty preshow, introduced to that chain in 2003. FirstLook carried largely that same format, the main difference being that while 2wenty was Regal-exclusive, FirstLook was fed to founding members circuits AMC, Cinemark, and Regal, as well as many NCM affiliate circuits such as Goodrich Quality Theaters, Hollywood Theaters, and Kerasotes. It was also a successor to AMC's MovieWatcher Network'.

Several different versions were provided depending on the movie's MPAA rating or format; G- or PG-rated family films often featured FirstLook Play, while 3D films featured a second segment, FirstLook 3D.

Movie Night Out

Movie Night Out is an application for iOS and Android platforms, published by National CineMedia in 2010. The application allows users to organize an evening film viewing at a theatre as well as activities before and after the movie, such as dinner, coffee, dessert and shopping using a local data feed from Citysearch APIs.[7]

Noovie

In September 2017, NCM introduced a new pre-show known as Noovie; the new show includes new segments such as trivia games and augmented reality games via the Noovie ARCade mobile app, and new feature segments such as "Noovie Backlot" (which features behind-the-scenes content on upcoming films; the first partner for the segments was Walt Disney Studios, who featured segments focusing on its own upcoming films), and "Noovie Soundstage" (which featured filmed concert performances in partnership with Sony Music's content studio Rumble Yard. Noovie was designed as a multi-platform brand, with an accompanying website and social media outlets for film industry news.[8][9][10][11]

Noovie was re-launched in December 2021 with new segments designed to make the show "more holistic".[12]

Fathom Events

Fathom Events, formerly known as NCM Fathom, was a division of National CineMedia that offered alternative entertainment events in movie theaters. In December 2013, it was announced that NCM was restructuring Fathom Events as a new stand-alone entity owned by AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Regal Cinemas and NCM, with NCM retaining a 4% stake in the company.[13]

Past entertainment events have included:

NCM Digital

The NCM Digital offers 360-degree integrated marketing programs in combination with cinema, encompassing thousands of entertainment-related web sites and hundreds of mobile applications.

Fantasy Movie League

In May 2017, NCM acquired Fantasy Movie League, a fantasy movie league where players have $1,000 a week to spend and try to pick a combination of films that are currently out that week that would lead to the most money the films made that weekend at the box office.[14]

Since the purchase, it has also been promoted during Noovie.[9][10][11]

References

  1. ^ "Cineworld and Cinemark Announce Agreement to Purchase Remaining Units of National Cinemedia Held by AMC" (PDF) (Press release). Cineworld. June 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "National CineMedia to buy Screenvision For $375 Million". The Wall Street Journal. May 5, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  3. ^ Schwartzel, Erich; Tadena, Nathalie (November 3, 2014). "Justice Department Sues to Block Merger of Cinema Advertising Networks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Stynes, Tess (March 16, 2015). "National CineMedia, Screenvision Terminate Merger Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Theater advertiser National CineMedia files for bankruptcy". Yahoo. April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "About Us". National CineMedia. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  7. ^ "Movie Night Out for iPhone". Macworld. January 10, 2011.
  8. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2021-12-16). "National CineMedia's Hipper Noovie Preshow Debuts With 'Spider-Man'; New Content Tackles Marvel, DC Universe, Touts Upcoming Films". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  9. ^ a b Welk, Brian (3 July 2019). "How AR Games Attract Moviegoers to Their Seats Early". The Wrap Pro. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  10. ^ a b Hayes, Dade (September 27, 2017). "National CineMedia Teams With Disney, Sony Music On Revamped 'Noovie' Pre-Show". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Bond, Paul (2017-09-27). "Disney Partnership Will Bring Behind-the-Scenes Content to Theaters". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  12. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2021-12-16). "National CineMedia's Hipper Noovie Preshow Debuts With 'Spider-Man'; New Content Tackles Marvel, DC Universe, Touts Upcoming Films". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  13. ^ "National CineMedia (NCM) Restructures Ownership of Fathom Events". National CineMedia. December 30, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  14. ^ "National CineMedia (NCM) Acquiring Fantasy Movie League | About National CineMedia". press.ncm.com. Retrieved 2018-01-29. 
11. ^ "National CineMedia Inc. Announces Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2006" Investor.NCM.com Retrieved 2/10/19.