Matthew Berry to Remain Actively Involved, Bringing Fantasy Gaming
to the Movies
CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
National CineMedia (NCM), America's Movie Network, announced today
during its sixth annual
upfront event in New York that it has entered into an agreement to
acquire Fantasy
Movie League, the box office predictions game co-created by
ESPN's Senior Fantasy Analyst Matthew Berry that combines the fierce
competition of fantasy sports with the insanely popular world of
entertainment and movies.
Co-creator Matthew Berry will remain actively involved in Fantasy Movie
League, which will be featured in NCM's new Noovie cinema pre-show and
digital channels. NCM's pre-show is currently seen by 750 million
moviegoers a year according to Nielsen on over 20,500 screens in over
1,600 theaters nationwide including AMC, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment
Group and over 45 other leading theater circuits. Berry previously sold
his TalentedMrRoto site to ESPN in 2007, and remains ESPN's Senior
Fantasy Analyst. Fantasy Movie League co-founders Eric LaVanchy and
Larry Tobin will join NCM as part of the agreement.
"I'm really excited about the partnership with NCM, and I'm thrilled to
be bringing Fantasy Movie League to a larger audience at the
movies," Berry said. "I'm addicted to all sorts of fantasy gaming, but Fantasy
Movie League has been a true labor of love for me because I've
always been a huge film fan. With a 20% rise in fantasy sports over the
past five years, the opportunities to partner with NCM on the next
chapter for Fantasy Movie League couldn't be better timed. We had
over 100,000 players in our first year without any advertising, just
word of mouth, so I can't wait to see how many people join the game once
they see it up on the big screen in theaters nationwide."
"Fantasy Movie League is an exciting part of NCM's new Noovie
digital strategy to reach and engage movie audiences with great content,
commerce and gaming beyond the big screen," said NCM President Cliff
Marks. "There are over 210 million people in America who self-identify
as movie fans - that's more than the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League
Baseball and NASCAR combined! We look forward to working with Matthew
and the Fantasy Movie League team to continue to expand fantasy
gaming beyond sports and into Hollywood."
Fantasy Movie League (FML) is all about predicting the box
office. It's free to play at www.fantasymovieleague.com
or by downloading the iOS
app, and fans can compete from any device to play in public leagues
or set up their own private league with co-workers, friends and family.
Movie fans become virtual theater owners as they pick which movies to
show that weekend to earn the most money. How much money those movies
make at the real-life box office is how much they make at your fantasy
Cineplex! Fantasy Movie League is easy to play, but hard to
master. Whether it's studying the upcoming film slate, reading FML's
advice columns, watching FML's advice shows, listening to the FML
podcast, setting their line-ups, checking on box office estimates or
seeing the final results every Monday, fans engage with the game all
week long. Winners can score great prizes every week, ranging from gift
certificates for movie tickets, to T-Shirts, to premiere tickets and
other special prizes from movie studio partners.
Fantasy Movie League attracts a younger, more gender-balanced
audience than traditional fantasy sports, with 60% of players age 35 or
younger. Research also shows fantasy players are more brand aware and
brand loyal, with three times the engagement of a normal fan.
About National CineMedia (NCM)
National CineMedia (NCM) is America's Movie Network. As the #1
Millennial weekend network in the U.S., NCM is the connector between
brands and movie audiences. According to Nielsen, more than 750 million
moviegoers annually attend theaters that are currently under contract to
present NCM's pre-show in over 45 leading national and regional theater
circuits including AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:AMC), Cinemark Holdings,
Inc. (NYSE:CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC). NCM's cinema
advertising network offers broad reach and unparalleled audience
engagement with over 20,500 screens in over 1,600 theaters in 187
Designated Market Areas® (all of the top 50). NCM Digital goes beyond
the big screen, extending in-theater campaigns into online and mobile
marketing programs to reach entertainment audiences. National CineMedia,
Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) owns a 39.3% interest in, and is the managing member
of, National CineMedia, LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170517006153/en/
National CineMedia
Amy Jane Finnerty, 212-931-8117
amy.finnerty@ncm.com
Source: National CineMedia
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