Release Details

The #1 Weekend Network in America Positions Cinema Comparable to TV's Premium Prime and Live Events, with Nielsen Posts and Demo Guarantees

Announces New Deals With Shazam, Maker Studios, Ideas United and the GRAMMY Awards® at The Bigger Picture Upfront Event in New York

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NCM Media Networks, America's #1 weekend network and the largest cinema network reaching moviegoers on-screen, on-site, online and on mobile devices, presented its third annual The Bigger Picture cinema upfront event in New York City today, unveiling a variety of new ways for advertisers to easily make the big screen's superior content, reach and engagement part of an upfront video strategy.

Hosted by comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo, NCM's upfront event at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater introduced media buyers, planners and brand clients to the new FirstLook pre-show with Shazam interactivity, digital, and social extensions; as well as new NCM-exclusive cinema advertising options including marketing partnerships with Maker Studios, Ideas United and The GRAMMY Awards®.

"Advertisers are now living and operating in a video everywhere marketplace where consumers have more control over how and when they watch programming and if they watch ads," said Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing with NCM Media Networks. "We hold our event during TV upfront week because we believe that is our rightful place as one of America's highest rated video networks. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our world-class content on our big screens and share the exciting new marketing partnership opportunities that we will bring to brands in the upcoming year."

Mr. Marks continued, "NCM's average unduplicated weekly audience represents a Nielsen rating of 7.4 in adults 18 to 49 — that's massive when you compare it to the average of 1.6 for a broadcast program or 0.9 for the top 20 cable networks in primetime. It puts our weekly FirstLook pre-show squarely in the top 10 primetime shows every week throughout the year. And if you look at our biggest movie weeks, NCM's FirstLook delivers ratings as big as the biggest live events on TV, with no DVR."

Marks concluded, "Our new 2014-15 upfront pricing strategy reflects NCM's repositioning to compete in the TV primetime and live event marketplace. Just like TV, NCM will be offering Nielsen Post Buy Analysis and demo guarantees to our upfront advertisers beginning in Q4 2014, making it easier than ever to include cinema as part of a video-agnostic upfront buy."

NCM also introduced the concept of industry's first Cinema Audience Targeting Optimizer (CATO) system, expected to launch in 2015, along with the integration of the Screenvision theaters into the NCM network. Initially offered as a test to a limited number of select upfront partners, CATO will give brands the ability to create more effective media plans based on film genres that will maximize consumer targetability and minimize waste.

New FirstLook Pre-Show with Shazam Interactivity, Digital and Social Extensions

NCM gave their upfront event audience a first look at its new FirstLook pre-show program, which is launching this weekend on approximately 20,000 movie screens nationwide. The new updated look and feel of the show was specially designed to provide advertisers with more organic ways to integrate a brand into the show itself. The innovative new flexible crystal graphics create individual "stages" to showcase brand content within its own FirstLook show environment — putting it center stage on the big screen.

The new FirstLook show will also be Shazamable, giving advertisers a way to literally put a brand in the hands of moviegoers using mobile devices. Shazam is one of the world's most popular apps that connects people to the world around them through their mobile device, and is now working with NCM exclusively as its U.S. cinema partner. This partnership will give its 120+ million users in the U.S. the fastest, easiest way to engage with the cinema pre-show experience. When a moviegoer Shazams content in NCM's FirstLook, they will be able to identify, explore, purchase and share that content.

"We know that moviegoers love their smartphones so much so that 85% use them before they plan a movie night out to check show times, watch a trailer, or buy a ticket," said Dave Kupiec, executive vice president of sales and marketing with NCM Media Networks. "We've grown our NCM Digital online and mobile networks to connect the dots with moviegoers, and now we can give our audiences a true connected-screen experience with Shazam, and even let them extend their movie experience after they leave the theater. We chose Shazam to power FirstLook's interactivity because it delivers a beautiful and entertaining mobile experience in a magical and effortless way, and reaches more users than nearly every other mobile app."

As part of the new FirstLook rollout, NCM is launching digital and social extensions of the show beyond the big screen:

• FirstLook5, a "snackable" 5-minute digital video version of FirstLook with over 2 million views a week, will also be updated with the new FirstLook design, delivering the best behind-the-scenes entertainment content right to moviegoers' computers, tablets and smartphones.
• To extend the movie experience beyond the theater environment, NCM introduced FirstLookYou!, a new user-generated social video platform that captures the authentic reactions of movie fans to the latest films. Using special FirstLookYou! booths in select theater lobbies, moviegoers will be able to give their own personal 20-second video review of the movie they've just seen, and then share across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

"If you think about it, movies are the ‘original social media' — not just the moviegoing experience itself, but the ‘water cooler' effect that lasts long after the credits have rolled," noted Steve Ochs, NCM's senior vice president of marketing. "Today, especially for the coveted millennials demographic, being ‘in the know' about the latest movies is a critical form of social currency. In fact, to the surprise of many who view the millennial generation as primarily digital cord-cutters, over 50% of NCM's audience is millennial — they're going to the movies more than ever!"

NCM also announced several entertainment marketing partnerships that offer new ways for advertisers to create their own unique branded content to reach this coveted movie audience:

• Maker Studios — Entertainment is changing, and the millennial audience is living a mobile, social, on-demand life. Maker Studios, a next-generation media and technology company, is the world's leading producer and distributor of online content to this diverse, tech-savvy group, and NCM has entered into an exclusive relationship with Maker to bring its top digital stars and premium programming to movie theaters.
• Ideas United — Ideas United creates unforgettable content, promotions and events for premier brands around the globe, and NCM has partnered with them to help advertisers tap emerging filmmakers to produce creative and engaging branded entertainment content for the big screen.

• The GRAMMY Awards® — Music is an integral part of the movies, and NCM and the GRAMMY Awards, the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music, are now working together to give unprecedented access to the music and artists who inspire the movies.

A Record Year at the Movies

NCM enters the 2014-15 upfront season building on two record years of audience growth, as the movies continue to deliver Hollywood's best content in a unique environment that eliminates the fragmentation inherent in other media. Experts are calling 2015 the perfect storm, and Matt Bean, editor of Entertainment Weekly, gave NCM's upfront audience an exclusive look at the potential blockbusters coming to a theater near you.

"Within this Upfront window, starting in Q4 this year through next summer, we are anticipating the biggest slate of movies to ever be released in such tight windows," noted Bean. "It will no doubt be an incredible year at the movies!"

Cliff Marks concluded, "The industry should think of cinema and NCM Media Networks as the most premium video available — with the biggest screen, captive audience, national reach, blockbuster entertainment programming, and no way to skip the ads. You can now buy us like TV, but our unique theater environment makes us bigger and better than any other medium. We're here to make sure that brands see the bigger picture with cinema."

About National CineMedia (NCM)

National CineMedia (NCM) operates NCM Media Networks, the #1 weekend network in America and the largest cinema advertising network reaching moviegoers on-screen, on-site, online and on mobile devices. NCM offers captivating entertainment content, national reach and unparalleled audience engagement across its digital in-theater network of over 19,800 screens (100% percent digital) in over 1,500 theaters in 183 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50). During 2013, approximately 710 million moviegoers attended theaters that exclusively present NCM's FirstLook pre-show program, including AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), and 40 other leading regional theater circuit affiliates. National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 45.8% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com. (NCMI-A)

Twitter: @NCMNews, #NCMUpfront

The Bigger Picture upfront event photos and other NCM Media Networks artwork is available at https://www.ncm.com/art.

NCM Media Networks
Amy Jane Finnerty, 212-931-8117
amy.finnerty@ncm.com
or
Leslie Obletz, 212-931-8119
leslie.obletz@ncm.com

Source: NCM Media Networks

News Provided by Acquire Media